state finals games- selecting refs

[SMEngmann]

Originally Posted by socalreff

OK... so you are talking about the CA game where McKnight was blasting the officiating at half time because his 3 D1 players (UNC) and Mitty's 2 D1 players (UCLA) were all in foul trouble.
As to how the officials are picked I will quote ChiTown, " JMO, networking, building relationships & being likeable will get one much farther than the negative characteristics."
They are not crews and get selected from all over the state and the above quote has just as much to do with the selection process as anything else. One stipulation is supposed to be that you can't do a game that involves a team you've had previously. It does make it difficult for the officials when you are working with someone for the first time on a game of that magnitude. I know it's harder for me when I have no idea what to expect from partners I've never seen.

Seems like he is talking about the Mitty-Mater Dei game. I work in NorCal and worked earlier in the state tournament and also call JC mens ball in the north, but I am not at the state final level. Having worked Mitty in league and having seen Mater Dei play, in addition to it being a rematch from last year with so much D1 talent, I figured it would be a very hard game going in, especially for a mixed crew who's seen neither of the teams before. It turned out to be one. That was a type of game where the refs were stuck, because "letting them play" too much probably would have led to an out of control game. The game was borderline out of control even with the number of fouls called, including 3 Ts and an intentional foul. So the refs had to balance that and emotions while also trying to establish a flow and referee some very good players, but with it being right on the edge of a non basketball play happening. Bottom line, that was a game where very few refs, if any, come out looking good. It was the game, not the refs, for the most part IMO.

Now, with regard to the original point about selection, again, I'm not a state final ref, but I know and work with several here in CA, and the point is that I think it's a very hard task to work with 2 strangers and officiate 2 unknown teams under that microscope. From what I've heard and observed, it almost seems like a camp setting, where 3 refs are trying to prove themselves to each other and their supervisor on that type of stage. The result has tended to be calls that might not ordinarily be called during the year, and a lack of communication. Last year's Mitty-Mater Dei final was marred by a basket that was counted that never went in. In NorCal, split crews are the norm for the whole state tourney and I believe they are in SoCal too, and in the final, there is a split crew from NorCal and SoCal. Pretty hard to have a perfect system in such a big state, and this might be the best possible system for selecting refs, but it certainly has its flaws. I think this underscores the importance of solid crews, rather than just having 3 really strong refs.