trail calls in the paint

Originally Posted by rsl

At a recent camp I had the following situation. A1 throws a lob pass to A2 in the lane, and A2 has inside position on B2. A2 and B2 are standing five feet away from lead. As trail, I close to almost foul line extended because all the of the action is in the paint. I see a B2 foul A2 on lead's blind side, with significant contact but not a train wreck. I wait, there is no call from lead, so I whistle.

That blindside in the paint on a 2 person game is tough. There's no C so who else is available to do the right thing?
Maybe wait a bit longer, perhaps the L was waiting to see if it fell in. Sometimes contact may be there, but it doesn't warrant an And1 or the L could've been giving A2 a chance to finish the play vs. the "nice try but take it out & start all over again" routine. Timing of the whistle on plays to the basket is crucial! Your L could've been thinking along those lines.

Originally Posted by rsl

At the next break, lead (an experienced ref on our local board) tells me he saw the contact but was waiting for the shot, which A1 was certainly going to take any second. He then told me never whistle something right in front of your partner. Good advice.

Never say never
I had a closely guarded count in a camp setting, from my area C to the T area, I continued my count & saw an illegal screen right in front of the T near the dribbler. I made the call, because the T recognized I had a count & their body language & eyes told me they were officiating elsewhere.
It was clear across the court, thank God I remembered to close & had a reason to be looking there in the first place.

Originally Posted by rsl

When is trail supposed to put two sets of eyes on the key? Never?

If there are no absolutes or always in officiating, how could there be nevers?

In the end, I guess it's who you're working for/with & what you're trying to achieve at that camp.