What would you have said?

[Rufus]

I had something this happen last year. There was a fast break and I was new L (2 whistle). Player goes up for a succesful shot with a defender on them but not making contact. I hear a whistle, look up, and see my partner standing at the midcourt line. He reports the foul, we shoot 1, and move on with life.

We talked afterward and I let him know that it wasn't a bad thing that he called the foul (maybe he saw something I didn't and I'm not going to get picky about coverage on a fast break like that), but the optics of calling it from the midcourt stripe perhaps weren't the best. He was very receptive and agreed to try and be more aware of court positioning in the future.

I think how you approach someone about this type of conversation depends on what their attitude is about receiving feedback. If you've got a know-it-all (be it D1 or sub-varsity) they may not be as open as someone who realizes that feedback on this type of situation is valuable and helps you be a better official.