Whacking Coaches

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

We watch players, not coaches. Just like I would not advise an official to call a T for something they do not clearly see, I would not advise an official to make a call just because someone was a step out of the box or just over the line. Also, a violation is very different than a T and it is clear that we treat those very different than when we call a T. Even all violations are not treated the same. Three seconds is looked at very different than an out of bounds violation.

Peace

But isn't not watching coaches the problem? Isn't that why the various committees have been using bench decorum as a POI, because officials need to be watching the benches more often? Sure, we shouldn't call something we don't see, but maybe we should be seeing more; after all, the bench is under our jurisdiction.

There was an Illinois game I attended last year (non-Big 10) where the visiting coach squatted down and watched play from the corner inbounds. (Picture 2-3 feet in from the sideline, and 2-3 feet in off the baseline.) This in the first half, so this was in front of their bench, while IL was on offense. At one point, an IL player had to side-step the coach, but nothing obvious was said to the coach. Hey, he wasn't screaming at the refs, so why should they concern themselves, right?

Also, your argument about a T being very different than a violation isn't as true in college. With a violation, you lose a possession. With a T, (and missed FT's), you've lost nothing because of POI.