That's just JR being his typical, ultra-liberal self; blaming his actions on legislation instead of taking personal responsibility. ;)

Congratulations Juulie, you're now just one of the guys.

As far as watching referees, I would much rather watch NCAA refs for how they handle games than NBA refs for the reasons already listed. It is a slightly different game, so there are many things NBA refs do mechanics-wise that I would not be able to use in other games. If there was one thing though, I wish I could hear how they interact with and handle coaches and players. That's where I wish I could pick up some pointers.

I was at an NBA game with a friend. I told him I was watching #41. He said, "There is no 41 out there." I said, "The referee is #41." He just laughed...couldn't understand why I was watching the officials and not the "stars".

I think your opinion of watching some (not all) NCAA refs will change once you understand what it is you are really watching. Some refs, that are on TV a lot, have the worse floor mechanics in basketball. That would include being worse than high school refs.

What are the differences mechanics-wise than a college official?
1. The run across the lane. It is already trickling down to college. Many people look where they are going instead of officiating at different levels as the cross the lane. If this is the case, you might as well run across so the rotation is completed quicker.
2. Everyone rotates on fouls.
3. They take the ball out on the sideline for fouls and violations.
4. They use two hands to report.
5. They walk through players on their way to the table. This is a good thing to me.
6. Their primaries are different than men's college but the same as women's.

Can someone add more differences when it comes to mechanics (not rules)? There is nothing about their mechanics that should be different when it comes to getting open angles on plays. Since they don't jump around like clowns, there is often a difference.
I have noticed the fact that they seem to listen a lot and let the coaches and players vent. They do this with a non intimidating stance and I've been told that they do NOT use a stop sign. They want to seem more defensive or neutral. Keep in mind, they are getting cussed at almost every game.
I guess it is a personal preference to not watch NBA games and/or refs. My preference is to watch basketball no matter what. I guess that is the Indiana in me coming out!

officials do not raise hand to stop clock on OOB plays.

[Edited by brianp134 on Dec 8th, 2005 at 03:38 PM]

I guess I'm not arguing which set of mechanics are better, just which ones I should watch to get better at the levels I'm in. I'm way too old, fat, and slow to ever think of being in the NBA; so I don't have those aspirations, and I'm not watching what they do. I'm probably way too old and slow to be at D-1 as well, but they're the closest to the level I'm at and want to get better at as well. Of course, there are things I can learn by watching, but it wouldn't do me any good to mirror their mechanics in my games because I wouldn't be in sync with my partners. But, I am interested in how they deal with coaches and players.

I'm in my 4th year as a high school official and I know that I don't watch any games the same anymore after being an official. I think the biggest thing that I do know is just try to take in everything from a neutral perspective even if I'm a big fan of a particular team. I'm a student in the Orange Krush (Illinois' basketball cheering section) and often times the crowd will start yelling at the officials (especially the students around me) and I'll just say, "it was a good call." I make so many comments about the officiating at games now that other students are starting to ask me rules questions when they don't understand something.

So far, the discussion has been about watching off-ball or mechanics, etc. Here's one other way to watch the game. I did this once and it's not easy. If you want to work on your "game awareness", then go to a game with a pad and paper.

Register the time on the game clock and shot clock after every whistle. Track the team fouls. Track the possession arrow. Record the number of every FT shooter. Log every player that subs out of the game; when the clock starts properly, cross out the numbers of the players who subbed out.

It's tough to do, but those are all things that we're supposed to know in a game anyway. It's easier to work on it while you're in the stands. :)