End of game management

[BamaRef]

We all know that game management is important to officiating. I'm posting this because I watched two officials do this and want others to learn from it.

Team A had the ball down by one. They had the full length of the court to go with 9.7 seconds left in the game. The two officials (two man crew) meet at the center circle. The referee talked about letting the players decide the game and not to make a cheap call. He then instructs the umpire (his partner) to tell team A (as they break their huddle) to make sure their picks are legal. As team B breaks their huddle, he instructs them to play defense with their feet and not to create a silly reaching foul. Team A inbounds the ball and the game ends with team A scoring the winning basket.

I thought this was a great way to manage the end of a hard fought contest. These two officials did their jobs, and still allowed the players to decide the game. If a moving pick had been called, then team A and their coach would have known that the officials were looking for it. At the same time, if a reach had been called then team B and it's players and coach would have known that the officials were looking for that as well. I think as young officials, we can learn from these veterans and manage these types of situations like they did.