JRutledge, you're awful touchy about the subject...with that attitude you are obviously a men's official. :)

1. Chuck can defend himself.

2. I never said it was an inappropriate question. In fact, I already apologized if I misinterpreted the quesiton.

3. I never said one way was better than the other.

4. Why is keeping an 'identity' so important? It's definitely not about which group does it better. Shouldn't each group being making changes for the betterment of their game, not so they can be different? All sides from HS through the NBA/WNBA are guilty of this. They don't want to be looked at as being a follower. Very few seem to do (or not do it) to make the game better. If the only justification you can make is 'to keep an identity' then that isn't right.

You have to be touchy to have an opinion? Is the NBA not Men's Basketball? I think most of what the NCAA Women's do, comes directly from the NBA. The WNBA follows because they of course are owned by who......The NBA. The difference between the NBA and WNBA, the WNBA plays during the summer (when no one cares about basketball) and the officials that work the Final Four on the Women's side, can go right to WNBA a few weeks later. Kind of a different dynamic.

Obviously you have not been here long enough to realize that I would not defend Chuck. :D

O......Kaaaayyyy.

OOOOOO.....Kaaaayyyy.

For one, you need to look around the sporting world. Things that are done at the pro level do not translate to the lower levels. Why? Because there is not the same training and same experience level of the players and coaches. And the NCAA in theory is trying to focus on something completely different than the NBA or WNBA is. At least on the Men's side.

Not all of us look toward the NBA for tips on how to officiate. There rules are different, the mechanics are different and the expectations and missions are different than the NCAA. I do not know about you, I cannot even watch most games in the NBA. I would rather have a surgery. Now, since you have assumed that everyone that wants to officiates Men's basketball thinks all Men's basketball is the bomb, then you have a lot to learn. And if you were around long enough, I was being kind. Why watch a game that is 8 minutes longer and the scores are in the 80s just like the NCAA. ;)

Peace

WNCAA / WNBA / NBA
 

I went to the Coast to Coast camp this past July. I was told by several NBA Officials that:

1. The director of Officiating for the NCAA Womens was a NBA referee, so she obviously is biased towards the practices of the NBA.

2. The NBA directly recruits from the NCAA Womens officiating pool, the CBA, WNBA and NBDL are their developmental leagues to get officials ready for the NBA, or at least see if they have "IT".

In conclusion, if you have ANY desire to work NBA, you need to look at working NCAA womens.

Remember, these are things that I heard directly from NBA Officials.

Re: WNCAA / WNBA / NBA
 

I don't think the above statement is correct.

2.NBDL are their developmental leagues to get officials ready for the NBA, or at least see if they have "IT".[/B][/QUOTE]

Wouldn't this be the NBDL?

Re: WNCAA / WNBA / NBA
 

I think you meant to say "if you have any desire to work the WNBA. . ."

The NBA does not draw its officials from NCAA women's officials, as far as I know (and, by coincidence, I just spoke to a D-League official about it this morning!).

[Edited by ChuckElias on Jan 6th, 2004 at 01:06 PM]

Re: Re: WNCAA / WNBA / NBA
 

Yes and no Chuck. That is not the only place they get officials, but they do draw canidates from the NCAA Women's side. The mechanics are almostly identical, so they can evaluate them based on their mechanics. And being from Chicago, like Bill and I are, there are people in this area that can get you opportunities in those leagues. Actually I know several officials that work in the CBA, NBDL and the many other Pro-Am Leagues around the country. More than I can name and most, including myself had never heard of. And as a point of fact, Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer were both NCAA D1 Officials before making the jump to the NBA. Dee has sense gone back to being a D1 official after her release about a year ago.

Peace

Re: Re: Re: WNCAA / WNBA / NBA
 

Ok, I can buy that. The D-League official I spoke to this morning said that working the D-League is by invitation only and to get an invitation, you need to go to the Guthrey camp or the Dale Kelley (Big 12 assignor) camp in early June. The NBA sends evaluators to those camps (but maybe others, too, of course) and then picks a few officials to look at in the NBDL.

That's all second-hand info, but I trust it since the guy has been through the process himself.