Halfway Through A 2-Person Varsity Season, and...

[Nevadaref]

I’m going to have to disagree. I enjoy 2-man officiating a great deal more than 3 because of that physical challenge that it is and the game management skills which are necessary with both the players and coaches. Also, there are times when you simply must make an educated guess. A call or decision is absolutes necessary and you didn’t have the ideal look, but there is no way that your partner can help. This is where experience and the art of officiating have a place as opposed to it being broken down to a science of NCC, CC, and IC.
And don’t tell me about backward areas or low-skill level of play. I work numerous games in CA which uses 2-man (in most of the state) with a shot clock.
I also don’t care for whistle-happy, robot officials. You can achieve freedom of movement and game flow with a few well-placed whistles. You don’t need to have 3 of the 5 starters on the bench with two minutes left in the first quarter and both teams in the automatic bonus before halftime. Over-called games aren’t enjoyable to me.
It also seems that your partner has part of his philosophy backwards. I would suggest to focus on judging the contact situations and getting the hard fouls while letting some of the violations and little stuff off-ball go. Traveling is insignificant compared to a kid getting his front teeth knocked out.
Finally, the level of physical play allowed in the game moves through cycles. I believe that a correction to the hands off and freedom of movement emphases of a few years ago is taking place now.

A cursory look at the NBA over the last 30 years shows some trends. Recall back when the league office decided that the game was too physical in the 90s and made an effort to clean up the rough play in the lane and the banging by the big guys? Now it seems to me that the emphasis on 3pt shooting and transition scoring has spread out the players and lessened the contact because all five guys need to be able to run, jump, pass, and shoot. There isn’t a spot on the floor for a wide-bodied banger who doesn’t move well or shoot particularly well.
So what are officials focusing on now? It’s not post play. It’s back to the basics of protecting jump-shooters and ballhandlers, while rebounding is quite physical.