Bob Knight's Latest Comments about College Officials

[bob jenkins]

Would Knight rather have Welmer after 28 straight days or one of the esteemed members of this forum working only our second game of the week?

The coaches and assigners in general have shown by their actions that they prefer the former.

Knight wants to have it all -- he wants the best officials working only enough to keep them at their best, and the rest of the schools be damned.

[iref4him]

Originally Posted by Whistles & Stripes

On the subject of officiating, Knight did not let a public reprimand by Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg stop him from blasting game officials who work five or six games a week.

"To have some guy 54 or 55 years old referee six times a week is a real disservice to the kids who are playing," said Knight, who was reprimanded last week for criticizing officiating in one of his games.

"They have plenty of other places they can go. They can go to the NBA, they can go to the NAIA, they can go to junior college, they can go to high school. For years, the NCAA has hidden behind individual employment contractors. I think that's all [baloney].

"You say, 'All right, if you're going to work in this league, this is how you're going to work. And if you don't want to work in this league, fine, you've got other leagues to work in.'"

Knight said he would support an effort to have the Big 12 hire its own officials who do not travel the country working different games in different leagues several nights a week.

"But these guys are so greedy, they end up trying to work these six games a week. And they're not capable of doing that," he said. "Check schedules and you'll rarely see where kids play three games a week. These kids are 19, 20 and 21 years old."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Thoughts anyone?

I agree with his point of view, but this is not new. The DI officials have been doing 5-8 games a week since I started in 1978. So he has a point, but nothing has changed in almost 29 years.

There is no set protocol for moving up. One conference does it one way others do it the other way. Until the NCAA has a set protocol for all officials, nothing is going to change.

The coaches are just as much to blame. They want the best or the officials they know working their games. Hypothetically, if Duke is playing UNC and Ed hightower is available, the assignor knows that Coach K would rather have him than someone new or he doesn't know. Then if Kansas is playing Oklahoma and Ed is avaiable, the assignor knows the coaches want him. Coaches don't like no one new. Working my way up into college, I have done and still keep doing scrimmages left and right so the coaches know me and I can get on the list. The assignor has to wait unitl the coaches feel comfortbale wiht me before I am assigned. Now at the lower levels NAIA, JUCO, and DIII - are sometimes different, but you still have to work all the scrimmages to get noticed.

I agree with Bobby, but it's the system he helped create. He doesn't have to Ed Hightower working his Texas Tech vs Texas A&M, but he would take him over me, even though I may be just as good as Ed (which I am probably not, but close). He could say Ed you travel to much, I am going with a local referee. Chances are in the conference games and rivalries, Knight would want Ed Higtower, Dave Libby, Jim Burr, etc. They are the known commodaties, I am not. But He can be the first coach to give us aspiring DI officials a shot, but he and many other coaches have not. It's just the system the coaches have helped to create.

The law of inertia states that an object in motion will stay in motion until an outside force changes it, or an object at rest will remain at rest unless an outside forces changes it. The official system in place will stay in place until an outside force (referees united, coaches, and the NCAA) get together to change it. But for now, it will remain.

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by iref4him

The coaches are just as much to blame. They want the best or the officials they know working their games. Hypothetically, if Duke is playing UNC and Ed hightower is available, the assigor knows that Coach K would rather have him than someone new or he doesn't know. Then if Kansas is playing Oklahoma and Ed is avaiable, the assignor knows the coaches want him. Coaches don't like no one new...

I agree with Bobby, but it's the system he help create. He doesn't have to Ed Hightower working his Texas Tech vs Texas A&M, but he would take him over me, even though I may be just as good as Ed (which I am probably not, but close). He could say Ed you travel to much, I am going with a local referee. Chances are in the conference games and rivalries, Knight would want Ed Higtower, Dave Libby, Jim Burr, etc. They are the known commodaties, I am not. But He can be the first coach to give us aspiring DI officials a shot, but he and many other coaches have not. It's just the system the coaches have helped to create.

Exactly. The reason you see certain officials every night in different states is because their services are in demand by the coaches. Period. And to expect these succesful officials to give up a game or 2 a week to bring in fresh blood is not very realistic.

[Texas Aggie]

Coaches, including Knight, are hypocritical on this. They want the Welmers and Burrs, then complain about how many games they are working.

I'm surprised that nobody has picked up on what Knight is really saying: he's ONLY setting himself up an excuse if tech doesn't make the tournament and he can blame it on inconsistent calls. If you called Knight right now and ask, "do you want Welmer who's worked 6 out of the last 7 days, or do you want ____ who Knight isn't familiar with," who do you think he's going to pick?

All the stuff about newer guys deserving a chance (which I agree with; for the life of me, I can't figure out why every assignor thinks Tim Higgins is any good -- at least now) belongs in another thread.

[tomegun]

Originally Posted by Texas Aggie

Coaches, including Knight, are hypocritical on this. They want the Welmers and Burrs, then complain about how many games they are working.

I'm surprised that nobody has picked up on what Knight is really saying: he's ONLY setting himself up an excuse if tech doesn't make the tournament and he can blame it on inconsistent calls. If you called Knight right now and ask, "do you want Welmer who's worked 6 out of the last 7 days, or do you want ____ who Knight isn't familiar with," who do you think he's going to pick?

All the stuff about newer guys deserving a chance (which I agree with; for the life of me, I can't figure out why every assignor thinks Tim Higgins is any good -- at least now) belongs in another thread.

You may be surprised about coach Knight. I think he would actually put his money where his mouth is and give someone new a chance. Keep in mind, that doesn't mean he isn't going to do his normal thing; I just don't think he would be totally against having a younger official work his games.
He could very well be one of those coaches that communication will not work with. If that is the case, what difference does it make to have a veteran official work his game? It might actually be better to have someone who will make the right call more often than someone who is just going to make the safe call.