Spread arms signal for no closely guarded? Yes or no?

[OverAndBack]

Thanks, Jeff.

I just see the discussion of "it's all about the playoffs" with regard to how officials conduct themselves and "it's all about the playoffs" when it comes to the players' and coaches' hopes and dreams to be two totally separate discussions.

I would hope players and coaches would want to win within the context and framework of what the whole thing is really about (to me, anyway) - developing young men and women and providing them with positive experiences in their formative years as far as coaches are concerned, and learning important life skills, competing and having fun as far as players are concerned.

Yes, this is my first (second in basketball actually) year and I'm nowhere near even being considered for the playoffs but that's not my point - my point was that some people seem to make "getting a playoff game" their entire raison d'etre and they seem to focus on that to the exclusion of the context and framework of that the whole thing is really about (to me, anyway) - striving to do your best and apply the rules fairly and the mechanics correctly to provide a fair playing environment for the two teams of players who are going through the experiences I outlined above.

I figure if you do that, advancement and playoffs take care of themselves, and if they don't, they don't. But there seem to be some (and I'm not saying you're one) who seem to think it's all about them and how much they can accomplish and not about the competitors or the game itself. And at this stage of my career, I simply can't agree with that. If you do or someone else does or I will in the future after I've done this for a while, that's fine.

/hokiness over