Chicago Blues?

tharbert · #1 (**permalink**) Tue Feb 19, 2002, 10:09am

Hep' me out here. They's talkin' about us southern boys like we were bumpkins or sumpthin.

There is a site at http://www.illinoishighschoolsports.com, Licensed Official's Forum. Someone just posted an article saying a Chicago area coach blames the Chicago's Class A schools' lack of post season success on the the southern referees. We just started boys post season. Maybe he should have saved his remarks for another week or three.

http://chicagosports.com/preps/content/story/0,1984,175537,00.html

Hey JR, what kind of ball are you guys calling up there? Do you ever reach the bonus? Or maybe we just eat more carrots down here

Do you know this guy. What say you?

JRutledge · #2 (**permalink**) Tue Feb 19, 2002, 02:17pm

Quote:

Originally posted by tharbert
Hep' me out here. They's talkin' about us southern boys like we were bumpkins or sumpthin.

There is a site at http://www.illinoishighschoolsports.com, Licensed Official's Forum. Someone just posted an article saying a Chicago area coach blames the Chicago's Class A schools' lack of post season success on the the southern referees. We just started boys post season. Maybe he should have saved his remarks for another week or three.

http://chicagosports.com/preps/content/story/0,1984,175537,00.html

Hey JR, what kind of ball are you guys calling up there? Do you ever reach the bonus? Or maybe we just eat more carrots down here Do you know this guy. What say you?

I am assuming that you are referring to me?

This is the old story of the Chicago schools thinking that they by right of passage, have better ball in the Chicago area. This has been going on the entire time I have lived in this state.

If you have not heard me before, I went to HS in Illinois for 3 years (was in Missouri and Texas for a short time) and grew up in Illinois most of my life. So I have been hearing this all my life.

Now that I officiate. Started my career in West Central Illinois and now live in the Chicagoland area, I see how much bull$hit that is.

I know several officials all over the state of Illinois. I have been a member or have worked with guys and gals in about 15 (or more) different associations all over the state. I have attended several camps all over the state. I have never meant an official that gave a damn about a Chicago area teams.

I personally did two games with Chicago teams and West Central Illinois teams, Chicago St. Francis De sales (Chicago Catholic League) vs. Rock Falls. And Lisle (Ranked #1 in the Chicago Sun Times) vs home town Abingdon. I was the only official on the floor that was from the Chicago area and we called the game as if anyone else was on the court. Both these games were at the Abingdon Shootout in January 2002. Lisle beat Abingdon (home team now) pretty handly. Chicago St. Francis De Sales got beat in a good game with Rock Falls.

I mainly hear this argument with Class AA teams but you do hear this from time to time at the Class A level.

Look, Chicago area players get much more exposure than anyone else in the state. Chicago teams of course get the same kind of exposure in the state. If you read the Tribune or the Sun Times, you would not ever realize that anyone even played in the rest of the state. But what I do notice having worked all over the state this year and in the past, teams outside the Chicago area tend to be better teams. The Chicago players are better, but they think they can walk into most gyms and beat the crap out of any team, because in their minds they think, "we are from Chicago, we can beat those farm boys." Well in HS, any team can beat another team if you have the proper coaching. And usually the coaching is much better outside of the Chicago area in my opinion. They do not have the talent, so they do other things to get the most out of their talent. While the Chicago area schools get to hung up on their ability, they try to take teams on with one on one moves and get beat as a result.

And the best team I have seen this year and officiated at the Class A level by far is Lewistown High School. Their coach gets the best out of them every year. He actually has some talent on all areas of the court. They can shoot the 3 and take you inside with a kid that is 6'9. They have a superstar guard that is going to a D1 college next year that has a killer instict like no other player you usually see outside of the Chicago area or in Class A mostly. He will take it to ya and take no prisoners. BTW, his dad is an official too.

If Chicago area schoos would stop trying to run their mouths and play ball, they would beat more often the downstate teams. But when you think that you are entitled to basketball and everyone else is just learning basketball by watching it on TV, of course you are going to get beat.

But I will say this, I do think the officials as a whole are much better trained in the Chicago area. That I think contributes to this perception. You have many more evaluators and assignors in the Chicago area. And you will not get games unless you are seen by assignors or the right evaluators as compared to many schools downstate that you are hired by the AD. It brings a little more accountability for the Chicago, Peoria or Springfield areas for example, because you do not get a game unless other officials think you can do the job for the most part. So when you see the State finals (especially girls) you do not see good mechanics or good calls all the time.

In a nutshell, in order for me to get me schedule that I have in the Chicago area, I had to be seen or recommended by very good officials that already work for these assignors. Downstate, all I had to do was do a game or get told by word of mouth and I can do a school's game. Or if I have worked for them for a long time, I might naturally get an opportunity to work a varsity game at that school.

But that is just my opinion.

Peace