United States Army General hired by the NBA for referee operations

[Raymond]

I'm just curious how this guy's name surfaced on the NBA radar in the first place. Did they solicit resumes, was he in the right place at the right time, or does he have a some sort of connection with a NBA big wig?

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

I'm just curious how this guy's name surfaced on the NBA radar in the first place. Did they solicit resumes, was he in the right place at the right time, or does he have a some sort of connection with a NBA big wig?

It's gotta be some kind of connection like that. Who in their right mind would hire somebody with no officiating background for this job? What are they really expecting him to do? Are they just looking for a "tough guy" to run the "rouge" referee organization? Perhaps somebody owes this guy money?

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

Who in their right mind would hire somebody with no officiating background for this job?

The NBE....duh.

Somebody with an officiating background might try to enact something that the League wants nothing to do with...like having the officials actually follow the rules. Can't have that.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by msavakinas

wow... please elaborate on the red part

In the NBE, traveling, palming....hell, fouls....aren't called by the rulebook. It's sports entertainment.

Anybody that thinks differently just isn't paying attention imo.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

I just read MG Johnson's official U.S. Army biography. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and appears to have been an engineering officier his entire Army career which not unusual for a person with his engineering background; I would venture to say that his engineering dicipline is civil engineering based on the positions he has held in the Army. A civilian equivilent position to his current Army position would be most likely be as a vice-president of engineering for a large manufacturing corporation. Which means that what he does for a living has absolutely no correlation to being in charge of sports officials. I have no doubt that he is very good at what he does in the military, but he has no qualifications for the job that the NBA has hired him to do.

MTD, Sr.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

I just read MG Johnson's official U.S. Army biography. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and appears to have been an engineering officier his entire Army career which not unusual for a person with his engineering background; I would venture to say that his engineering dicipline is civil engineering based on the positions he has held in the Army. A civilian equivilent position to his current Army position would be most likely be as a vice-president of engineering for a large manufacturing corporation. Which means that what he does for a living has absolutely no correlation to being in charge of sports officials. I have no doubt that he is very good at what he does in the military, but he has no qualifications for the job that the NBA has hired him to do.

MTD, Sr.

With his CE background, maybe he can get the Gyprock delivered on time.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

With his CE background, maybe he can get the Gyprock delivered on time.

[rockyroad]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

With his CE background, maybe he can get the Gyprock delivered on time.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

In the NBE, traveling, palming....hell, fouls....aren't called by the rulebook. It's sports entertainment.

Anybody that thinks differently just isn't paying attention imo.

LOL!!!

Peace

[truerookie]

As a servicemember who has served under Gen Johnson. I too wondered where the qualifications came from. However, you do not have to know the job to managed it and the personnel within the system. Gen Johnson is smart articulate, and pays attention to detail. So, it is my belief that Gen Johnson will do a bang up job!! (good job) .

This is like saying you shouldn't make it to Division I because you have only been officiating for 5 years. Growth potential. JMO

Essayons!!!

"Let us Try"

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by truerookie

This is like saying you shouldn't make it to Division I because you have only been officiating for 5 years.

Say what?

Don't think so.....and your analogy is not even close.

Try...."This Is like saying that you can make it to Division 1 without ever having officiated a game in your life or knowing a damn thing about the game or it's rules."

Or maybe even closer...."This is like saying that you're qualified to replace Hank Nichols because you have been a good policeman."

And that makes perfect sense because the officiating in the NBE no longer has much to do with...well....officiating. They're getting closer to being traffic cops....keep the show moving and ignore the minor stuff.

As always, jmo.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by msavakinas

1)80% of all called travels aren't really a travel.

2) You should actually read the rulebook before calling some of the things that you want called a travel. They get them right.

3) And when somebody is on a break away and they wanna do something a little fancy with the ball... let them do it. It's no advantage disadvantage.

4) Fouls? I think they get the advantage/disadvantage ones. Which is the same ones you get so I don't know why you are criticizing them.

1) Please point me to where I can find some actual proof that this statement is even close to being accurate. I await your response.

2)Bull Pucky! I know the basic NBE traveling rules. They ain't much different from the NCAA/FED rules. I also have eyes. I saw a player take FIVE(5) freaking steps on a dunk in a recent playoff game with no whistle. It just happens too damn often in the NBE to be a blown call either.

3) Exactly. Who cares if they take 5 steps? Nobody got an advantage. And it's entertainment anyway. And btw, thanks for making my point.

4) Fouls? I'm coming up to 50 years in basketball officiating. I don't have a clue what a foul is in the NBE. The only thing that I know is that they are consistently inconsistent when it comes to calling them.

You have your opinion. I have mine. And mine is that the NBE officials today could be the same ones that do the Globetrotter games. Who cares about little things like rules when the main focus isn't competition anymore but entertainment? And that isn't the officials' fault either. It's the fault of the people giving direction to those officials. And it's now coming back to bite those people in the azz....and they deserve it.

[Texas Aggie]

I learned a long time ago that in business if you have a general manager job open, and a choice between a very good leader and a very good technician (meaning, someone with a solid background in the technique of whatever the company's product or service is), you hire the leader. The leader knows how to motivate people and get results and he can always hire a staff level tactician.

However, in my above example, I'm assuming the leader knows what a car is, or knows what a computer is, or knows a little about the product or service in the first place. He may be hired for a software company and not be able to write a line of code, but he can use the software after some training. In this case, this person hired may be a good leader, but he doesn't know what a computer is and he's being asked to run a computer company (e.g.).

[BillyMac]

I'm a retired teacher. Here in Connecticut, all public school systems, individual towns, or regional school districts, have as their "chief officer" a Superintendent of Schools, who, in Connecticut, must have at least a master's degree in education, and started out as a classroom teacher, before moving up the ladder to school department chair, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, etc.

The Superintendent, in many towns, and regions, controls a budget of millions of dollars, controls an inventory of school buildings, furniture, books, etc, worth millions of dollars, and supervises hundreds of teachers. It is my understanding that a few Midwestern states, Minnesota, or Michigan, pop into my mind, are experimenting with Superintendents that may lack a college degree in education, may not have taught, but may hold a college degree in business, and may have experience as a chief officer of a business, or a corporation. I have heard that these experiments have been successful, and other states are considering trying this model. If I were still teaching, I wouldn't mind having non-educator working several levels above me, as long as he, or she, surrounded himself, or herself, with assistants who were educators.

Just my opinion. Don't know if it helps this discussion, or not.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by msavakinas

1) Joe DeRosa said it at his camp every year... not me.

2) You don't use the advantage/disadvantage philosophy when officiating basketball??

3) Don't be an over officious official...

4) They blow their whistle a lot in the NBA. Calling a lot of fouls.

5) The officials are there for a reason do not knock them. It is the highest level of basketball.

1) Good for Joe DeRosa. My personal guess is that it's 1.23%. Now, you tell me. Which one of our guesses is right...and prove it.

2) Are you serious? I sureashell do and I try to teach it too. Unfortunately you don't seem to understand the philosophy. You do NOT use advantage/disadvantage on freaking violations.....unless you really are officiating in the NBE. That's absolutely ridiculous. You apply advantage/disadvantage to contact to decide whether that contact is legal or not. Are you really saying that we should ignore traveling in the backcourt if there's no pressure? Or maybe a dribbler stepping on a sideline with nobody around? I don't know where you learned your philosophies from...it sounds like it came from the NBE .....but real basketball doesn't use those philosophies

3) You know how I can tell people who don't really have a good argument? They use phrases like "don't be over-officious" instead of using actual rules, mechanics and accepted officiating philosophies. Sorry, but that one just doesn't work with anybody that's officiated more than a season or two. It's meaningless.

4) Yup, they blow a lot of fouls in the NBE. Not much traveling or palming or little things like that, but a lot of fouls. Too bad they don't call those fouls the same against the home team or the stars though.

5) You missed my point completely. I'm not knocking the officials. I'm knocking the clowns who are making the officials call the pro game under entertainment philosophies rather than by their own rules. I'm blaming the jerks who tell the officials not to call traveling if someone is about to make one of those ESPN highlight reel dunks.

Something tells me that we just ain't gonna agree in this one.