Referee the Defense

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by ATLBrvs326

I am watching some NBA games tonight and thinking about referee the defense. This has been what I have worked on all year long as well as thinking the entire game on the court (not being dead minded). Anyway, I have noticed that sometimes I miss calls when I referee the defense, especially in the paint when players are bundled because if you referee the defense when a player is getting guarded by 3 players, your more than likely gonna miss someone foul the offense. Watching the NBA game, I see the officials watching the offense sometimes, while other times watching the defense. So when exactly do I watch the defense, and when do I watch the offense. In the example above, would I watch the offense and watch for fouls? Any advice would be great.
Travis

You make a good point about multiple defenders and players driving the lane. What might help you is to take a look to see if a player is attempting to draw a charge. If so, then that is going to be your primary focus. If not, then you can look for other defenders slapping the offensive player on the arm or such as well as traveling or other violations by the player with the ball.

"Referee the defense" doesn't mean to ignore the offense. It simply means that you FIRST look to see if the PRIMARY defender has position on potential crashes, if he is in your primary area. You must know this information in order to get the call right. If a secondary defender is attempting to take a charge, then whichever referee has that defender in his primary area must observe his position. Secondly, you look for defenders committing fouls by contacting the offensive player with the hands, arms, or legs. Lastly, you watch for violations by the offensive player. You already know the defender's position so if the offensive player causes contact the call is easy.

[blindzebra]

The best advise I can give is not to get tunnel vision on the defender.

Make your goal to always get an open look through the match ups in your primary. By looking through the play, you should be aware of the defender and LGP, the status of the ball and the ball handler's pivot foot, as well as screens and second defenders beyond the on ball match up.

[JRutledge]

Refereeing the defense is a concept, not just about where you look. You do not only watch the defense and forget about everyone else. Refereeing the defense is about being aware of what the defense is doing. If you know what the defense is doing, you have a good idea of what the offense might try to do or is able to do. If you see what the defense is doing, you likely can tell who did what. Just as said earlier you cannot get tunnel vision and only watch a small area. If the ball handler starts dribbling in the lane, pick up the defenders and what they are trying to do. This usually makes the call a lot easier. Just like anything this takes time to master and some will never completely master at all. But it is not something you get overnight. You really have to work on this because we are trained to watch the ball instead of the other aspects of the game.

Peace

[tomegun]

Probably more than a year ago I made a post stating refereeing the matchup is better than refereeing the defense. This is something I got from one of those NBA refs who is also a D-1 assigner.

The overall response was less than warm.

Rut's comments above are good.

[rainmaker]

"Referee the Defense" is great advice for the block/charge situation. It's not intended to be an overall reffing philosophy. It means to be sure you're not so intent on ball-handling that you don't know whether or not the defender has LGP, which is the crucial item in the block/charge call.

Better advice for general play is to See the Whole Play, or See Through the Play. If you have a good angle and are keeping a "whole play" mentality, you'll never miss an offensive foul. Well, I guess never is a little strong, but you won't miss many.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by rainmaker

"Referee the Defense" is great advice for the block/charge situation. It's not intended to be an overall reffing philosophy.

Really?

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Really?

Well, what do you mean, "Really?" Yea, really, I wasn't joking or being subtle. I guess I haven't polled trainers and camp clinicians around the country, but this is how I've always heard it. And it makes sense. See the Whole Play is a better way to be sure that you're catching as much as possible, don't you think?

[Old School]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Refereeing the defense is a concept, not just about where you look. You do not only watch the defense and forget about everyone else. Refereeing the defense is about being aware of what the defense is doing.

Very well stated. It is a concept but if you are just watching the defense, then you certainly will not see illegal screens. You have to learn to balance this with all the other duties you have to perform that day. Rainmaker point below regarding LGP is crucial in all violations involving illegal contact, not just block/charge.

Originally Posted by rainmaker

"Referee the Defense" is great advice for the block/charge situation. It's not intended to be an overall reffing philosophy. It means to be sure you're not so intent on ball-handling that you don't know whether or not the defender has LGP, which is the crucial item in the block/charge call.

Better advice for general play is to See the Whole Play, or See Through the Play. If you have a good angle and are keeping a "whole play" mentality, you'll never miss an offensive foul. Well, I guess never is a little strong, but you won't miss many.

I think what you mean to say here is "See the Whole Play Through." Let the play complete itself and judge by that. For example, if a guy dunks the ball, but there's contact on the play, seeing the whole play thru, you can judge that the contact was incidental to the player scoring and therefore no need to call a foul. If the player misses the dunk, seeing the whole play thru means this same contact could be ruled a foul judging that the contact caused the player to miss. That's just one example.

[blindzebra]

How about a check list of what is the most important?

1. Position: Be positioned to get the widest view possible, be positioned to see through the players.

2. Find the defense: I like find better than referee the defense since it doesn't lead to over focusing on the defender.

3. Know the status of the ball: Where is it? Have they dribbled? Which is their pivot?

4. Don't tunnel vision on the match up: Work to see through the on-ball match up, to include as many players as possible in your primary.

You do all 4 and you will see the play, know LGP, won't miss violations by the offense, and won't be surprised by screens or secondary defenders.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by blindzebra

How about a check list of what is the most important?

1. Position: Be positioned to get the widest view possible, be positioned to see through the players.

2. Find the defense: I like find better than referee the defense since it doesn't lead to over focusing on the defender.

3. Know the status of the ball: Where is it? Have they dribbled? Which is their pivot?

4. Don't tunnel vision on the match up: Work to see through the on-ball match up, to include as many players as possible in your primary.

You do all 4 and you will see the play, know LGP, won't miss violations by the offense, and won't be surprised by screens or secondary defenders.

BlindZebra:

Excellent post. Should be required reading for all basketball officials.

MTD, Sr,

[Mark Padgett]

In determining how to make calls, I use the "WWESD" philosophy. It simplifies everything and I don't have to remember anything else.

Oh yeah. It stands for "What Would Earl Strom Do?"

BTW (off topic) - my son has a T-shirt that says "WWSD - What Would Scooby Do?" on it.