NFHS home Team A, is down by two points and inbounds at the far end of the court with 3.2 seconds left in the game. I'm the lead, watching team watching most of B's players defending under A's basket.

Team A inbounds the ball, and passes to about A1 about half way between the division line and their 3-point circle with about 1 second to go.

My partner is a 1st-year ref and I'm trying to spread my coverage to see the entire half court. I clearly see A1 travel before launching a very long 3-pointer. This travel is clearly in his area, since I'm under the basket.

I assume he'll call a travel - he's only 10 feet away from A1 and has a clear view - but by the time I realize he isn't going to whistle, the 3-pointer is in the basket and the final horn sounds.

The home crowd immediately rushes onto the court, the visiting couch yells "wasn't that a travel?" as I ask my partner "didn't you see a travel" and he replies "No - I'm pretty sure it wasn't".

So I let it go.

Did I wimp out?????

He who hesitates is lost. Either call it before it reaches the basket or eat your whistle. It was your partner's call and he didn't make it. Too bad it was the wrong call but was handled correctly.

In defense of the 1st yr Ref
 

It is amazing how much you can stare at, see, and NOT process as a new official. I believe it is from mental overload. When you are starting out, you are trying to see EVERYTHING. In reality, as a new official you are missing most things.

For example, in this case, the "greenie" may have been concentrating on the clock, the defender and contact in the upper torso and above area, even though it appeared that he was "looking right at him."

With experience, officials build "filters" that help them instinctively sort out non-essential information. This allows the official to see the picture clearer. In fact; several officials have commented how they can even mentally capture the action and replay it a 2nd time in their mind to "verify" their call before they even blow their whistle.

I can imagine this incident will make the roolie a better official.

damn rookies

IMO this is not the kind of play that you should extend out of your area and call. Let the Rook live and die with it.
Now if the Rook misses "contact" play, i.e. a punch , or something physical in nature, then I think you would be justified in going and getting it. All you would have accomplished in this instance is to tell everyone you're a ball watcher, and possibly leaving the Rook with the feeling that you didn't trust him!

Yeah...damn rookies!!

Great no call on your part. I am assuming you were in the locker room when you asked him if he saw the travel. I think a better way to ask this question would be "did you think that was a travel?". How he answers doesn't matter. It just gives him something to think about. Then support his answer and tell hem great job.

I agree Bart. Live and die with the call, or in this case no-call. All you do if you call it in that situation is make both of you look bad. You for calling something from so far away and your partner because you make him/her look incompetent. LIve and die with it. I agree you should discuss it in the locker room in a positive manner.

Yeh, but sometimes you're dying right along WITH him! I had a game a couple weeks ago with a first year ref who mentally wasn't all there. In two games he didn't make ONE CALL! The coaches were going ballistic. I was trying to be polite and not call out of my area, but it wasn't working and the game was getting rough. Finally I had to go to the coaches and tell them that I was going to be calling fouls all over the floor and to be patient with me. (Kinda that same speech you give the coaches when your partner stood you up and you're doing a single.) Thankfully it was a 7th grade boys game and not JV level.

What level of play?

I know this will "stir the pot" a little bit, but if the travel was very very blatent, I would call it. IMHO, basketball is about the kids playing a sport for fun, competition plays a big part in it though, everyone wants good officiating.

Why would you penalize the kids for a mistake made by your partner (who knew no better, he is a first year, like willie said, he was proably concentrating on something else) it was a 7th grade basketball game.

You stated you made the decision before the game to look into his area also, because he was a first year, so I feel (I know I am going to get heat from this) that if you are looking into his area and see something as blatent as that, you are obligated to call it.

I would not make it a big deal, and after play has ended, change the call to a travel (because you cna't do that) but if you saw it and called it right away, I don't think there would have been a problem at all, give him the opportunity to call it, if he doesn't get it, it was blatent, the 3 was no good.What effect would this have had on the game?

Some people say let the rook die w/ his call. I think that if the rookie makes a bad call or no call, that I as his partner have to step up.

Well doug, you sure are trying to dig yourself a deeeep hole. Live and die is learning. Did Wondering make these travel calls out of his area, in front of his partner, in the 1,2,3,4 quarters. I doubt it. Are you going to keep a score card to make sure the travel calls out of your area balance so as to be fair to both teams. So, if you don't make these calls out of your area for 1,2,3,4 quarters, do you realy think it is fair to the team that traveled to win the game, to come in the last second and say i am changing the way we have been calling the whole game for 1,2,3,4 quarters and you lose?

Having said what I did above about having to cover for a bad partner who refused to blow his whistle, let me also say that I try, whenever possible, to respect the "area rule" and not call outside mine BUT, you know sometimes on trail I see things that the lead can't and visa versa. Several times kids will turn their back to the official closest to them and I have a CLEAR view of a foul that he can't see.

Paul, the only question I have is why would you mention to the coaches you were increasing your court coverage? Doesn't that seem like you are impuining (sp?) the reputation of your partner further? I had an expierence similiar to that my first year. I didn't call a clearly 10 second violation that this leauge chose to employ (Wash. state rules don't have one by its governing body for girls). After a timeout a coach chose to howl over me and my partner responds,"Coach he is only a 1st year official I will handle it." It wasn't a pleasant expierance.

I don't mean to imply that your situation was as severe, but on the court don't you think we have an obligation to protect our partners, especially the less expieranced ones?

Paul is right, I wouldn't change the call made in this situation, but I am going to protect my partner(especially a 1st year), that is what I was getting at.