i've been out with an injury for the past month. so, i've watched alot of basketball. and i was wondering how you watch a game as a spectator? do you only watch the T official or do you watch the L official? do you watch only a certain area of the court like you were the T or L official?

so, how to do watch the game and get the most out of the game you are watching?

i always here how official say they watch the game differently once you are an official.

so, how do you watch a game with the intention of learning and getting better?

thanks!

I try to watch the entire crew and see how they communicate and work together. If I see an official that I consider excellent, I will watch him/her solo for a while at all positions (L, T and C) and try to pick up some great things that they do. What do they do better than me that I need to improve?What kind of non-verbal communication do they do to show their partners when they are on-ball and off-ball? Do they stay in their primary coverage area except for the train wreck that they go get because it makes the game better? Do they project supreme confidence? Are their mechanics clear and the right speed and tempo?

Z

I find myself watching the officials more than the game itself. When a call is made, I try to get the person who committed the foul. I see myself as the imaginary 4th official.

DITTO, it's alot different watching a game once you are an official. Fans, coaches and players mostly watch the ball.

I have partial season tickets at Iowa State with a good friend that is an official and his wife. She hates sitting with us because 90% of the time we're talking about the officials rather than the game. She especially hates it when we have to mime big timer mechanics on the way to the car afterwards. The part I hate most is sitting next to the "well informed fan" screaming about fouls, 3 seconds and over the back from the second to the top row at Hilton because he certainly has a better look at the play than the officials on the floor.

I tend to watch more off-ball stuff now, because there are subtle nuances that can be picked up spectating that help when I get back on the court. Watch the C a lot. Try not to watch NBA ball because there are some things that the officials do that are just crazy when you see them from a distance.

I don't fuss as much about the officials either way now. :D

I was watching a game last week where two new officials were working. There were whole aspects of the game that they just weren't seeing. Apparently neither were the fans or teams, 'cause they weren't getting any grief. But I was seeing them. After a while you develop a sense of where to look and when and what to expect to see.

If you want to practice that kind of stuff when watching, then practice watching off-ball and anticipating what the offense is doing. Watch for where screens will be set and how they free up shooters. Watch for cutter and see how they are defended. That kind of stuff has helped me.

WOW! You are really missing out. Can you explain this comment a little more?
Say what you will about the game, but nobody does it better than NBA officials. No group of officials are scrutinized and analyzed like NBA officials. No officials talk to coaches and players as much as NBA officials. No officials take as much from coaches and players as NBA officials. Nobody works to get angles like NBA officials. No group of officials are as consistent across the board as NBA officials. I could go on and on.......Wow! I'm anxiously waiting to hear why you would make that statement.

I think what the post is referring to is that NBA officials are not good models for HS officials because their game is so much more advantage/disadvantage and their mechanics are far different. Personally, I don't like the NBA game. I know the officials are very good. If they weren't, they wouldn't be there. It's just that a lot of what they do doesn't translate well into the high school game.

That, IMO, is a false message that we should stop immediately! A lot of what they do is work to get the best angles and best court coverage possible. They spend money on the science of the 3-person system. That is the main point of all of this: getting plays right. Their mechanics are secondary to calling the right fouls and violations. They are also an example of sharing information and putting it into action. On the high school and college level, we share new information and many choose to interpret it differently, apply it differently and in some cases ignore it. As far as advantage/disadvantage their philosophy has trickled down and is right; RSBQ is universal. Getting open angles is universal. Rotating ball-side, although done with different criteria, is universal.

I watch the officials and their positioning on the floor. Primarily, I like to watch the officials who have "off ball" coverage and look to see where/what they are looking at.

Advantage/disadvantage?

You're kidding, aren't you, Tom?

Hell, I can watch an NBA game and never have a clue what a foul is from one whistle to the next. Or traveling or palming, for that matter either. Guys taking four steps on lay-ups....wassup with that? I can't figure out what the NBA philosophy is supposed to be because everything is inconsistent as hell. It's OK to put someone in the third row and a touch foul is then gets called.

The NBA is pure entertainment and is refereed as such. NCAA and high school games are still <b>games</b>. I used to be a big-time NBA fan, but I just can't stand to watch their games anymore. The lack of fundamental skills, the show-boating and trash-talking, the constant whining at officials, freaking coaches that haveta call every single offensive and defensive set, somebody like Kobe shooting 8 for 37 and some dumb announcer trying to tell me how great he is because he scored 25.....yup, the NBA...Faaaaantastic.

You can have it, Tom. I can't stand watching it anymore. Give me an NCAA game any day, and I pray that the pro philosophies stay as far away from them as possible. Jmo.

I agree that they are good at positioning and such, but their way of looking at advantage/disadvantage is much different than what we see at the high school level. Our player are not as skilled, strong or fast. Also, the NBA, to me, is more about entertainment and putting rear ends in the seats than it is about competition. It is officiated that way. A foul that is called on the 3rd or 4th guy coming off the bench will not be called on an all-star started because people are there to see the star. An extra step or two will be ignored if it leads to a highlight dunk. Sportsmanship is completely different than what we expect at the high school level. This is what I meant by the NBA not translating well to what most of us do. As I said, I'm sure the officials are good, but they way the league wants the game called has little to do with the games I do.

Way to sneak in while I was writing JR. I agree. Well said.

Kobe went 8 for 37?

Sounds like he had a good night.