2019-20 NFHS: Rumors/Desires?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

It has nothing to do with where I live either. No one makes that big of a deal about certain things ...

Yes it does have to do with where you officiate, but not for you personally because with your accomplished resume I doubt that anybody, officiating anywhere, Illinois, Connecticut, Rome, etc., would criticize you for something so minor (I'm still surprised that you were criticized for it in your state final, but there's at least one person in your area who thinks it's a "deal", not a big deal, but a "deal, not minor enough to ignore, but enough of a "deal" to make a constructive comment).

But if you were a young official, especially one who seems to have an aptitude for officiating, is off to a good start, and might have a bright future, here in my little corner of Connecticut, you would eventually bump into someone, one of our interpreters, a mentor, a mechanics training committee member, or a member of our evaluation committee, who would point out the minor issue, during either an official, or an unofficial, evaluation observation.

Probably not me, similar to you, I tend to concentrate other things. I would rarely, if at all, point out this minor flaw (I have my own signal problems).

Here in my little corner of Connecticut, this minor issue would probably be ignored if done by a struggling, deer in the headlights, young official, who barely knows if the basketball is stuffed, or inflated. There are bigger fish to fry, and more important things to critique if we are ever to turn this young person into a competent basketball official.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Yes it does have to do with where you officiate, but not for you personally because with your accomplished resume I doubt that anybody, officiating anywhere, Illinois, Connecticut, Rome, etc., would criticize you for something so minor (I'm still surprised that you were criticized for it in your state final, but there's at least one person in your area who thinks it's a "deal", not a big deal, but a "deal, not minor enough to ignore, but enough of a "deal" to make a constructive comment).

But if you were a young official, especially one who seems to have an aptitude for officiating, is off to a good start, and might have a bright future, here in my little corner of Connecticut, you would eventually bump into someone, one of our interpreters, a mentor, a mechanics training committee member, or a member of our evaluation committee, who would point out the minor issue, during either an official, or an unofficial, evaluation observation. Probably not me, similar to you, I tend to concentrate other things. I would rarely, if at all, point out this minor flaw.

Just so you know, there are people that make issues out of those things here, but if the assignor you work for does not care (many don't) or the clinicians at the camp you attend do not care then it does not matter. All that matters is what the people you work for and if they give you games or do not give you games based off of their narrow position. Most assignors that I have worked with are going to tweak things you do, but they are not going to stop giving you games because something in the book is not "perfect."

For the record, the State Tournament Officials are giving games by people that never give games during the regular season. The State Administrator in that particular sport makes all the postseason assignments. One of his mandates is to use officials that have worked enough games, have certain ratings and have certain levels of experience. I do not think he is holding people back from an assignment just because they do not give a perfect signal. He would be in trouble if that is the only reason you do not work or do not work a certain level in the tournament. And to get to the State Finals takes a lot of steps. You do not just one year go from a Regional to a Super-Sectional for the most part. You have to climb that latter and then you get that shot at the State Finals at some point. Even to work a championship game usually does not come to someone working their first State Final assignment. This was my third State Final assignment and I did not work a title game in my first year and I did not even think I was going to work a title game in my third year because on my second trip I worked the 3A game. Trust me we have a meeting before the tournament starts where we discuss many things that we are expected to do. Mechanics is something heavily talked about but no one discusses hand position of a signal. Even if we give preliminary signals which are "required" by the state and there usually is a little bet we have with the head official about giving the proper sequence for a team control foul, which most of us never do properly. We bet that we give the head official a beer every time we do it wrong. I and another good friend just got him beers anyway because we could never do it "perfect."

I am sure that is not that much different in other places. It might be mentioned, but that is not going to stop a good official from getting certain places. If it does, shame on those people in power that have no perspective. The goal should be to put out the best officials you can at the time that are avaialble to you, not to nitpick the little things they do that do not affect their job performance.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

... holding people back from an assignment just because they do not give a perfect signal ... It might be mentioned, but that is not going to stop a good official from getting certain places ... The goal should be to put out the best officials you can at the time that are available to you, not to nitpick the little things they do that do not affect their job performance.

Agree. Perfect signals should be way, way, down on the priority list for tough assignments, if on the list at all.

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” (Vince Lombardi)

[ilyazhito]

The restricted area is another change to high school basketball that is floating around. Minnesota and North Dakota have already adopted it on there own, so maybe this could be the year it goes national. I'd be on board with a restricted area coming to high school basketball, because it would prevent most charges under the basket (the only exceptions would be for primary defenders or players during rebounding activity), increase safety for the players, and make at least some block/charge calls easier. This would also lessen the learning curve of high school officials who want to go to the college level, because the restricted area won't be so alien to them once they have learned to call games using it.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

The restricted area is another change to high school basketball that is floating around. Minnesota and North Dakota have already adopted it on there own, so maybe this could be the year it goes national. I'd be on board with a restricted area coming to high school basketball, because it would prevent most charges under the basket (the only exceptions would be for primary defenders or players during rebounding activity), increase safety for the players, and make at least some block/charge calls easier. This would also lessen the learning curve of high school officials who want to go to the college level, because the restricted area won't be so alien to them once they have learned to call games using it.

God no. We have enough problems at the other levels with this and now you want to have officials that can hardly call a simple play like this and add something else.

Everything from other levels does not make it better. NF Rules are not for you to be prepared at the other levels. Football and Baseball officials do just fine with other rules when they move up the latter.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Everything from other levels does not make it better. NF Rules are not for you to be prepared at the other levels.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

God no ...now you want to have officials that can hardly call a simple play like this and add something else.

Agree.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

... a struggling, deer in the headlights, young official, who barely knows if the basketball is stuffed, or inflated.

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

The restricted area is another change to high school basketball that is floating around. Minnesota and North Dakota have already adopted it on there own, so maybe this could be the year it goes national. I'd be on board with a restricted area coming to high school basketball, because it would prevent most charges under the basket (the only exceptions would be for primary defenders or players during rebounding activity), increase safety for the players, and make at least some block/charge calls easier. This would also lessen the learning curve of high school officials who want to go to the college level, because the restricted area won't be so alien to them once they have learned to call games using it.

I see no reason why we need to get rid of charges under the basket. "Because NCAA and NBA have the RA" isn't good enough for me. Neither is "it'll prepare players and officials for the next level."

Yet again, another solution looking for a problem.

[Matt S.]

Originally Posted by SC Official

I see no reason why we need to get rid of charges under the basket. "Because NCAA and NBA have the RA" isn't good enough for me. Neither is "it'll prepare players and officials for the next level."

Yet again, another solution looking for a problem.

We finally agree on something!!!

Anything that involves adding/removing lines on the actual playing floor (not OOB) or anything else that costs schools money would not be implemented right away anyways.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

God no. We have enough problems at the other levels with this and now you want to have officials that can hardly call a simple play like this and add something else.

Everything from other levels does not make it better. NF Rules are not for you to be prepared at the other levels. Football and Baseball officials do just fine with other rules when they move up the latter.

Peace

Agree.

The quickest way to improve safety and reduce charges under the basket is to call the charges under the basket when they happen....all without a rule change. The reason it becomes a safety issue is some officials refuse to call it and that encourages the offense to fly into defenders because they know they can.

[ilyazhito]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Agree.

The quickest way to improve safety and reduce charges under the basket is to call the charges under the basket when they happen....all without a rule change. The reason it becomes a safety issue is some officials refuse to call it and that encourages the offense to fly into defenders because they know they can.

We must agree to disagree here. The reason why charges occur under the basket is because defenders are able to legally set up there and get rewarded for it by earning the foul call. If a defender must set up at some distance from the basket, then that challenges him to contest the shot and get a rebound should the shot miss, not be a human shield to take away a score at the expense of potential serious injuries to either player. This would also allow the offensive player the time and distance to react before he leaves his feet on anew attempt to score at the basket.

On a fast break, a player who is running full steam might not be able to come to a stop quickly enough to avoid a player who shows up under the basket. Because the player had position, it was a charge, but this call benefited neither the defender nor the offensive player from a safety perspective. If a defender sets up farther away from the basket, the ball handler might notice him sooner and be able to avoid him more quickly.

A similar scenario might occur when a defender rotates over to help a player who is beaten inside the lane, and ends up directly in an offensive player's path. Because time and distance does not apply to the ballhandler, he is being penalized for being unable to stop his movement, not for executing any specific illegal actions. The restricted area rule is specifically written to disallow any illegal actions by the offensive player (unnatural use of the hand, arm, leg, or knee, a distinct pushoff, etc.), while not penalizing him for his momentum.

The restricted area was created in the NBA, NCAA, and FIBA to avoid these exact scenarios, as well as possible variations on these scenarios. Perhaps, if the NFHS is focused on risk minimization and improving player safety, it is time to add this change to NFHS as well. There is no reason from a basketball standpoint for a defender to risk injury by being in a position where it is difficult to contest a shot, rebound, or perform another basketball play. The offense also benefits, because it becomes easier for them to drive legally to the basket.