Re: Reffing the defense is important
 

Thank you for mentioning this. Referee the matchup!

Referee the Defense .... Think like the Offense.

Sorry, but that makes no sense.

I think it is funny - but expected - that I get mildly blasted for saying referee the matchup and nobody says anything about this. So, do you think, "I'm about to travel", "I'm about to push off", "I'm about to double-dribble", etc? Sometimes things are made too simplistic and sometimes things are made too complicated; this is an example. What are we really supposed to be doing? We should be watching our primary for violations, fouls and anything we think we should put a whistle on. I'm not going to think like the defense or offense, I'm going to think like a referee. I'm going to react, when necessary, to actions that I need to.

Referee the defense - too vague
Referee the matchup - better but there is still more
Referee the defense...think like the offense - doesn't make sense

All this is my opinion and not the opinion of the sponsors. :D

Referee the match up is a great way to get your mindset in 3 man, but I think that referee the defense is better for a 2 man game. You have more to look at in your primary.

Tom, "think like the offense" is just another way of saying "anticipate the play". Where is the ballhandler going? Is he going to drive? Then I have a block/charge call coming. Is he going to dribble for a jumper? Then I have to make sure he doesn't push off to make space, and I have to watch for contact all the up and back to the floor during the jumper.

Anticipate the play, but not the call. That's what Edgar would tell us.

Little different tack
 

Different answer but maybe helpful. When someone says the words "referee the defense" it means something different to me than what most are saying here.

After all, think about fouls; the vast majority of fouls are called on/against the defense. The defense has done something wrong; tweet. WSith the ball in my primary area, I spend my game refereeing the defense. And by that I mean, in the ball match-up, I specifically watch the defense for illegalities. If the defense does not do anything wrong then I've either got a NO-CALL or, if there is sufficient contact and advantage gained by the offense, then I've probably got a player control foul.

Today's game has lots of contact. For me, "referee the defense" means ON-BALL coverage and I watch for illegal acts by the defender (in their effort to 'prevent' the ball handler from scoring).

Off-ball coverage is generally where we pick up illegal screens committed by the OFFENSE and also some by the defense. But the ratio for OFF-BALL fouls is probably closer to 50-50 for defense and offense whereas the ratio for on-ball coverage is probably closer to 90-10 defense to offense.

$0.25 ka-ching.

Re: Little different tack
 

Right, and a good PC call is defined by where the defense is right before the contact, so watching the defense is the best way to get the B/C call correct.

I agree that watching the matcup is the best way to ref off ball.

Re: Re: Little different tack
 

Amen on the PC fouls as well as the B/C fouls too.

Downtown, I would suspect that the offense gets away with various violations and offensive (player-control) fouls. Right now, your gut reaction is to probably disagree with that assesment immediately and say, "no, I get those calls too." If they don't then, my friend, you are refereeing the matchup whether you want to call it that or not. In the big scheme of things, doesn't it make more sense to call something what it actually is? What is the best way to describe watching two players and make sure neither one of them does anything (violations and fouls) illegal? If someone can come up with something that accurately describes this and isn't two or three sentences, I'm all ears. But, referee the defense does not give as accurate a definition as referee the matchup. I don't mean anything in this post to get into a back and forth. I'm just of the opinion that referee the defense isn't the most simple and accurate term to describe what we do when we...:) referee the matchup!

Re: Re: Little different tack
 

I feel like throwing up! When a drive is imminent, yes we must locate the defender to determine a b/c foul. However, why are we still talking about a few situations in a game when we referee the matchup EVERY time someone has the ball and is being guarded. To deny that we really referee the matchup is essentially saying we are going to miss travels, double dribbles and other things. If someone posts saying they do miss those things because they are focused on the defense, I will agree that is refereeing the defense.

Puke away Tommy
 

My point was not that I'm not paying attention to the offensive player - that I'm missing violations by the offensive player, etc.

My point was that "referee the defense" is a method allowing the official to accurately judge whether a foul needs to be called on the defensive player... or whether the offical can 'no-call' the action.

Obviously an official is still responsible for off-ball and the big picture, but this thread started with an official being told he needs to "referee the defense better."

If you referee the defense, you can see what the offense is doing!

Re: Re: Re: Little different tack
 

OK, go ahead and throw up...this is one of those "you say tomato, I say tuhmato" things...everyone is talking about the same basic thing, you've just got everything in a wad because you like your terminology better than anyone else's...c'est la vie.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Little different tack
 

"Tuhmato"? :) Just struck me as funny. It looks funny.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Little different tack
 

Huk't on foniks, baby...works every time!