Good officiating?

[Man In Blue]

Originally Posted by biz

As a coach, I'm looking for two things from the officials....a strong knowledge of the rules (unfortunately, brother and sister officials, this one is lacking far too often) and Consistency.

I understand, as an official, that there are many shades of gray in officiating basketball, and all I try for as an official is to be consistent from the tip to the final horn and that's all I ask for from the officials who call the games I coach in.

That one is the toughest for me as an offical to understand. Just because I call an charge on one end does it mean I have to call a charge on the other end to be consistant?

What does consistant mean to you?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Man In Blue

That one is the toughest for me as an offical to understand. Just because I call an charge on one end does it mean I have to call a charge on the other end to be consistant?

What does consistant mean to you?

It means call things against their opponent and do not call anything against my team.

Peace

[Rufus]

Originally Posted by Man In Blue

That one is the toughest for me as an offical to understand. Just because I call an charge on one end does it mean I have to call a charge on the other end to be consistant?

What does consistant mean to you?

One of the best pre-games I ever sat in was during my first year officiating. We had finished up the JV game and the varsity guys were in the locker room going over pre-game stuff. One was a veteran official and the other a newly promoted varsity guy who was very eager. He nodded his head at everything the veteran was saying and finally wrapped up the meeting by saying "And let's be consistent!"

The veteran paused for a moment, looked his partner in the eyes, and said "No, let's be right. If we're consistently wrong we're not getting out of here alive!"

[just another ref]

I am reminded of a quote from True Grit. When asked if he needed a good lawyer, Ned Pepper (Robert Duvall) replied, "I need a good judge." A good judge, in this case, meant one who would let him stay alive. Too many coaches, if their team is not alive, equate this to bad officiating. Coaches, and others, see officials as nothing more than the bearers of bad news. There are exceptions, but with many coaches this overriding "the ref is a bad guy" mentality is further clouded by marginal rule knowledge and an obvious lack of objectivity on individual calls. How do we expect to be perceived as good, when viewed through such a hindrance of the clear picture?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by just another ref

I am reminded of a quote from True Grit. When asked if he needed a good lawyer, Ned Pepper replied, "I need a good judge."

"Fill your hands, you son of a b*t*h."

[Andy]

Originally Posted by just another ref

...Too many coaches, if their team is not alive, equate this to bad officiating. Coaches, and others, see officials as nothing more than the bearers of bad news. There are exceptions, but with many coaches this overriding "the ref is a bad guy" mentality is further clouded by marginal rule knowledge and an obvious lack of objectivity on individual calls...

Just to add to this point, let me relay something I was told by a D1 official several years ago:

D1 coaches, for the most part, are control freaks. They have control of a multi-million dollar budget, control of a large arena and practice facility, and control of the lives of those 12 or so kids playing for them. About the only thing they don't have control of is those three guys running around their court in striped shirts. This drives them crazy and they are willing to go to almost any length to try to gain control to their advantage.

When you look at it from that angle, it's no wonder that D1 coaches think the officiating is uniformally bad across the board.