Patient Whistle

[Joe McCain]

Folks, Mr. Jean's original question didn't differentiate between post play, a drive for the basket, or shot taken from the floor, even though he did ask about the possibility of eliminating the and-one foul shot.

There are a number of reasons to call the foul even though the offensive player somehow managed to get the bucket to drop. Some of these for me are things like: if I fail to call this now, will it continue, and will I have to deal with an out of control game later; if I fail to call this now, will it be likely to cause someone to get hurt; what message am I sending (to the players, the coaches and the benches)by calling this foul, or by passing on it? There are many more. I never stray far from the idea that a part of my job is to ensure a safe place to conduct a game.

Using the above criteria, an example of a time I would most CERTAINLY call a foul no matter if the ball goes in or not would be: A1 dribble drives to the basket and just as A1 becomes airborn for the layup and is about to move past B1, B1 pokes A1 in the ribs with a finger or two. This can be tricky because sophisticated offensive players have been known to fake this particular foul, so it is ESSENTIAL to have great position to be able to make this call. You can always tell when this has happened because you see the small poke to the ribs, and you watch while A1's whole body goes into a minor convulsion.

The contact might very well be slight, practically nothing at all for an agressive offensive player, yet I submit to you that B1 gained a significant advantage on the play. Further, should I pass on this I fear the message I'm sending to everyone. I hope this helps a wee bit and hasn't completely confused you.

Lastly, (at least for this posting, wink)

What's a fan?

To sum this all up, IMHO a patient whistle is paramount to good officiating. I could tell you some horror stories about times when I've screwed it up, so its something I always pre-game and am constantly working to improve.

Great Question by the way Jean.

[Edited by Joe McCain on Jul 22nd, 2005 at 03:57 AM]