Out of Area Calls

[JRutledge]

First of all you cannot "overrule" another official on a call.

You can have a brief conversation with a partner if you both have the same thing or there is an issue with a certain aspect of a call. Like whether the basket counts or they might be a violation that would eliminate a foul or violation. That is very rare though.

What should happen is you should discuss this in pregame and get the point across about calling your area and deal with some situations that might suggest when that happens or when it does not. In 3 person there are situations when an official can call outside of their area. To know those situations usually you have to have some knowledge of the system and to know what is acceptable. For example there are times when the Trail is going to make certain calls in the Leads area and the lead is probably not watching the ball. The trail almost always has the ball to come extent because they have the 5 second count (NF and Men's college). This is why the pregame meeting is so important. You do not want to be surprised on the court. Then if there is a situation, discuss it at halftime or even a quarter break. If a partner called something in my area I just make the comment, "what did you see at....?” I usually will try to remember the time on the clock when the call was made to bolster my question. It is possible that they had a better angle and you can at least find out or drive home the point of calling in your area and trusting your partner.

Peace