Tough Call

[MattRef]

You're right Kelvin. I don't like the post.
How can you not do the count? It is a part of the rules and a part of the mechanics of the game. To do otherwise makes a travesty of all the rules. We would have refs taking their own spin on the rules. You have to enforce the rules, especially those that deal with conducting the game in an orderly fashion.
Coaches are wan to find any loophole in the rules they can to get an advantage, real or otherwise. Enforcing this rule is not looking for trouble. It's doing your job. Every official I have reffed with does the visible count, albeit a bit subdued so as to not disconcert the free thrower. We cannot be concerned so much that a call is going to make a difference that we lose sight of our real purpose for being there. To do otherwise shows favoritism.