USBL follow-up

[ChuckElias]

There were a couple of things that I forgot to mention that I think might be interesting to those of us who work primarily, or solely, HS games and below. Two comments in particular stuck in my mind from my try-out.

After coming off the floor, following my 15 minutes of fame, the supervisor of officials told us to call contact as fouls. His exact words were "We don't use that advantage/disadvantage crap here." He said that you can't be on the floor "looking for things not to call".

Now this was very interesting to me, b/c for 10 years now, I've been told by my IAABO trainers "Any monkey can blow a whistle. A good official knows when NOT to blow the whistle." So naturally, I have tried to develop the habit of holding off for a second to see if the contact affects the play. The observer at my try-out seemed to be saying that he does not want his officials to do that. If there's contact, call a foul. It seems to me that if we did things that way, we'd have a lot of what Drake has called "cheap and-1's". I have to say that I was confused and unsure about how to implement his advice.

The second comment was made by a USBL official who was just there to help out. He said, "High school and college ball are about rules and interpretations. Pro ball is about entertainment. You better know who the fans are at the game to see."

So despite the protestations of some of our fellow posters on this board, I saw some evidence for the claim that star players are to be treated differently than the other players in a pro system. Now, obviously, that's not proof, and I'm not trying to start a broo-ha-ha. I'm just reporting to you what I was told.

As you can probably guess, I've been going over the whole day in my head over the course of the last few days. I'm just sharing some of that with you. I'll stop now!!

Chuck

[DrakeM]

"We don't use that advantage/disadvantage crap here."

Remember, the USBL does use NBA rules but IT IS NOT THE NBA!
IMO the NBA experiemented with that philosophy when they implemented the "no-touch" hand check a couple of years ago.
Guess what? They dumped it. The mantra now is that the refere must determine if the contact affects the "speed, quickness and balance" of the ball handler. If it doesn't,
play on. If it does call it. (Sounds like advantage/disadvantage to me.)
Some things are automatic fouls, just like NF and NCAA, two hands is never allowed and 99 percent of the time will be whistled immediately. (I shouldn't have said never, because there is always a time or two that it won't be called.)

"looking for things not to call".

Very true. Always look for things TO CALL.
Yet, it's a fine line between a good no-call,(isn't that looking for something NOT to call?) and calling the game so tight that players can't move.
For me, it's a matter of semantics.
Mentally "I don't need to call that" as opposed to
"I see the contact, but it doesn't affect the play"
Maybe if Eli is around he can give his take on this philosophy.

By the was, who was the observer?

"Pro ball is about entertainment. You better know who the fans are at the game to see."

Of course it is. But can we honestly say that High School and College games are not? Why do you think fans go to High School games?
TO BE ENTERTAINED!!!
And what is the biggest event of the year?
The NCAA Tournament! Why? Because it is entertaining!
I think no matter what level you work it is good to know
who the fans PERCEIVE to be the "star player" or players.
Not that you let them get sway with anything extra, but
when it gets down to the nitty gritty and the "stars"
have 4 (or 5in Pro rules) fouls, you don't want to foul them out with a "cheap" foul!

It is a good thing to remember, that most of those in a Supervisory position in the Minor Leagues, have never been in the NBA. They may have been in the development program at
one time or another, and may know NBA officials.
But what I've found is that they don't stay current with the philosophy of the day. That is, the NBA is always looking at how they can improve the way they call the game.
Those who are not in the program may know the basics, but are left behind in some other areas.
Chuck, if I were you, I would address any questions I might have to Eli Roe. He is in the Program and can provide definitive answers for you.
The bottom line, go out and call the game. If you think it's a foul, blow the whistle. It's always better to call too tight and have someone tell you how you can back off, than to not call tight enough.
Just my two cents.

[BBarnaky]

If you can understand the pro philosophy on certain types of plays, follow that and you'll be fine. I think the person at the camp talking about entertainment (my own assumption here) was talking about plays that are called in lower level games that are different types of plays in the pro game. For example, everybody thinks players in the NBA travel every trip up and down the floor. Granted it is interpreted more liberally, yes; however, on the other hand, the players are agile, quick, very deceptive, and are allowed a 2 step rhythm on plays to the rim. Don't be fooled into calling a travel because "it looks weird." Call the obvious, obvious travels. Don't nit, pick traveling plays. Just one example that came to mind.

As far as the advantage/disadvantage comment goes, read Drake's comments as they are pretty accurate. There use to be "no touch." Now, its speed/balance/quickness/rhythm on perimeter play and drives to the basket. Remember the NBA wants all off ball post plays called very tightly. Don't let players pull, drag, chuck, impede, etc when attempting to cut to and away from the ball. In this area there is no advantage/disadvantage principles. Call the foul here. Just another example that came to mind.
Hope these examples help. If others come to mind I will post them.

[eroe39]

Chuck, I would hope the USBL person you are referring to was making a very general comment. Maybe he felt that the games officiated so far that day were too rough and officials were trying to philosophize on why they did not call something. I would agree that there are certain items in the pro game that are called more purely than in the high school game such as disloding in the post, chucking cutters, illegal screens, handchecking, etc. Advantage/disadvantage would be used less in these situations. As Drake said, handchecking used to be addressed very purely with no regards to advantage/disadvantage. They have since changed that to handchecks that only impede the speed, quickness, balance, or rhtyhm of the player with a few exceptions. If a player is 30 feet from the basket and the defender puts his forearm on his back and leaves it there they want that called a foul even if no sqbr is affected, which is a call that would not be accepted in high school or college. I have heard the phrase "look for things to call" from Ed Rush. I think it simply means to not get lured asleep and let something surprise you. Be ready and don't constantly talk yourself out of making a call. Obviously, you don't want to blow all contact though. Hope this helps!