The magic number

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

JRut,

I'm not aware of the Burr incident you are referring to. What happened in that situation?

I did not see the play myself. I am only referring to what was stated. Apparently in one of the Regional Semi-Final, Jim Burr called a 10 second violation from the C position based on the shot clock. I guess the commentators made reference to this being the right call based on what the shot clock said. This situation was the main reason this conversation started as to philosophy and common sense.

I hope I did not leave anything out.

Peace

[ChuckElias]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Well it did not matter in the National Championship game where the shot clock read 25 seconds and Florida got a timeout. Also the official that made the call that sparked this discussion did not come in and make the National Championship game. So there must be some reason he did not make this call again.

Or it is possible that the NCAA addressed Burr's earlier call and said that was not supposed to be made by the C official in the manner it was made during the tournament.

I'm sure there is a reason, but like you, I would just be guessing about it. It is certainly possible that somebody said to Burr not to make that call anymore. But I doubt that. As I said, this is taught at camps and (I thought, at least) generally accepted. Obviously, I could be wrong.

It's also possible that Tom's suggestion is right. Maybe there was a small lag time issue. But then, as you suggest, I might expect an adjustment to the shot clock.

It's also possible that Burr just didn't notice it this time until after the TO was granted. I didn't see the play, but if the ball was fairly close to him and there was pressure (which I'm assuming, since he had to call the TO), then maybe he couldn't take his eyes away to check the clock.

As I said, all guesses. We'll never know unless somebody gets to ask Mr. Burr about it at a camp this summer.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

I'm sure there is a reason, but like you, I would just be guessing about it. It is certainly possible that somebody said to Burr not to make that call anymore. But I doubt that. As I said, this is taught at camps and (I thought, at least) generally accepted. Obviously, I could be wrong.

I know some people are going to get mad when I say this. I have never been taught this at any college camp I have been to. Now you live mostly on the East Coast and that could be the difference. Also many of the college games I have attended also do not have a shot clock working during those games. That could be a factor. Usually the games are HS teams so there would not be any shot clock present. Also even the pre-season Jamborees and scrimmages many times do not have a shot clock involved either. So you do not see this going on before the season. I just have never been told to use the shot clock as your guide as an exception to your vision count.

Peace

[Camron Rust]

When guys are working games that are guaranteed to make Sportcenter and are likely watched by hundreds of thousands to millions of people, they're going to do things that may not be apparent or necessary at lower levels. When there is going to be so much scrutiny over thier work, they'll not give the camera obvious ammunition to pick apart their work. They're also going to have table crew that do start the clocks on time almost without fail. They're also going to know if the clock started on time or not and will fix it right away. Given all that, they know that if the shot clock is different than their count (calling a violation before the clock says 25 or not having a violation when the clock is less than 25 and the ball is still in the BC), they're going to catch hell over it and don't let it happen...likely by taking a glance at the clock (which is very visible in big televised games).