Making a call in your partners area.

[SMEngmann]

Coverage areas are just that, areas, not absolute, territorial lines on the floor. The overriding goal, in my opinion, is team officiating, as in getting plays right as a team and checking ego at the door. Team officiating requires all 3 (2) officials working for angles to cover the competitive matchups and to assist each other. Far too many calls get missed because the official with the best angle doesn't want to step on the toes of the other guys. Using the lines on the floor theory we lose coverage on plays like curls and diagonal cuts where the primary official based on the lines does not have the best angle on the play and can't see the contact.

In my pregames, especially in 2 man games, we review the basic coverage, but I also mention that our goal is to referee where our partner(s) cannot, regardless of what the lines on the floor say to do. Now that being said, the further away, the less believable the call, so the more obvious the play has to be. The better your positioning, the easier it is to officiate where your partner cannot, which includes on the ball and off. Again, I'm not advocating ball-watching, just positioning in a place where you can cover where your partner can't.

[ca_rumperee]

... in terms of PCA. 2 man mechanics.

I am trail.
Ball is in corner in front of lead. I am closing down watching all action outside the lead's corner, predominantly in the key.

Player in corner drives to the key, or passes to post player who turns into the key. In both instances I'm not really talking about along the endline, but rather towards the area between ft line and basket. Play is coming at me, and I know my partner will often have a view of nothing but player's backsides.
If I have a foul there, I call it. That's just been my approach this year. Haven't really had any conversation with anyone about it.

Am I poaching, or is the key 'mine' in the above scenario?

[tomegun]

Originally Posted by ca_rumperee

... in terms of PCA. 2 man mechanics.

I am trail.
Ball is in corner in front of lead. I am closing down watching all action outside the lead's corner, predominantly in the key.

Player in corner drives to the key, or passes to post player who turns into the key. In both instances I'm not really talking about along the endline, but rather towards the area between ft line and basket. Play is coming at me, and I know my partner will often have a view of nothing but player's backsides.
If I have a foul there, I call it. That's just been my approach this year. Haven't really had any conversation with anyone about it.

Am I poaching, or is the key 'mine' in the above scenario?

I would say what you are saying has merit in both 2 and 3 man games. It sounds like the play is curling away from the lead meaning the lead will probably have to guess.

Also, God help you if you are still doing 2 man. A 2 man game requires many rules of thumb followed in a 3 man game be broken.

[ma_ref]

I'm pretty sure I'm probably not saying anything that hasn't been posted already but I figured I'd chime in with my .02 cents.

When I work with somebody I haven't worked with before, I tell them that I don't have the mentality of "I call my area, you call yours" like a lot of the old-school refs. I tell them that if they see something, then they should call it. That being said, I will call a foul in my partner's primary only if both of the following 2 conditions are met:

1. I see the foul. If I don't see it clearly, then I've got nothing.
2. I'm 110% sure my partner didn't see it. Generally this happens when my partner is the L, and there's action in the lane. The player with the ball usually does a pivot, fade away jumper, and usually gets hit on the way up with the ball. My partner will be screened to the contact, and there's just no possible way he could've seen the contact. During a subsequent time-out or time between quarters, I'll tell them what I saw. If I feel that my partner had a decent view of the play, but passed on it for whatever reason, then I've got nothing.

To the OP, I'd recommend bringing this up at 1 of your early board meetings next season, or maybe mention it to your interpreter. You don't necessarily have to mention what league you worked, or who the evaluator was, but the comments from the evaluator would be a bad habit to start for the newer officials. I'm not advocating always calling out of your primary, but there are certainly times where you should.

Quick little related play from my early days of officiating. It was maybe my 1st or 2nd season working a local youth league. Probably 5th or 6th grade boys game. I'm T jogging alongside A1 with the ball bringing it up the court. A1 gets over half-court and B1 and B2 leap forward and have A1 trapped in the corner of the front court just over the half-court line. A1 picks up his dribble and is pivoting right in front of me trying to find somebody to pass to, and I've got my eyes going back and forth between his feet, the half-court line, and the defenders hands going for the ball. All are doing good - A1 not travelling and has no half foot on half court line; B1+2 have no illegal contact on A1. All of a sudden I hear, "Tweet"...and my partner made an over-and-back call from the end-line under the basket. Yikes. Honest to goodness true story...

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by ma_ref

When I work with somebody I haven't worked with before, I tell them that I don't have the mentality of "I call my area, you call yours" like a lot of the old-school refs. I tell them that if they see something, then they should call it.


Quick little related play from my early days of officiating. It was maybe my 1st or 2nd season working a local youth league. Probably 5th or 6th grade boys game. I'm T jogging alongside A1 with the ball bringing it up the court. A1 gets over half-court and B1 and B2 leap forward and have A1 trapped in the corner of the front court just over the half-court line. A1 picks up his dribble and is pivoting right in front of me trying to find somebody to pass to, and I've got my eyes going back and forth between his feet, the half-court line, and the defenders hands going for the ball. All are doing good - A1 not travelling and has no half foot on half court line; B1+2 have no illegal contact on A1. All of a sudden I hear, "Tweet"...and my partner made an over-and-back call from the end-line under the basket. Yikes. Honest to goodness true story...

Gee, maybe your partner took your advice above that's highlighted in red. He saw something outside his area and he called it. How can you say "Yikes" when he's just following your advice?

[ma_ref]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Gee, maybe your partner took your advice above that's highlighted in red. He saw something outside his area and he called it. How can you say "Yikes" when he's just following your advice?

I assume you're joking and pointing out an slight oversight in language on my part. When I tell my partners to call something if they see it, common sense comes into play here as well. Often when I work with somebody new, we talk about the various leagues and assignors we each work for. If younger officials seem interested in a particular league, I tell them to feel free to call me I can be of any help to them, regarding possibly needing references to get their feet in the door of these leagues. Just because I tell them to call, I don't expect my phone to ring at 3am.

And besides, I don't think I was contradicting myself, because my partner from the situation I described didn't see the violation, because it never happened. I was right on top of it and nobody had a clearer view than myself.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by ma_ref

And besides, I don't think I was contradicting myself, because my partner from the situation I described didn't see the violation, because it never happened. I was right on top of it and nobody had a clearer view than myself.

Yup, I think that you sureasheck are contradicting yourself. You very explicitly stated that you tell your partners "If they see something, then they should call it." Well, your partner saw it, he thought that it happened, and he called it. That's what you get when you advocate going outside your primary.

There's a heckuva big difference between a "gotta-get" call that's in your vision range and is obvious to everyone in the building and looking for and calling fouls/violations all over the floor.