Those mean, mean officials!
 

So last week Creighton played at George Mason. Creighton got called for a block on a close block/charge play late in the game, and Dana Altman got whacked shortly thereafter. GM hits the free throws and Creighton ends up losing by three.

Of course, those in the media like Gary Parrish have this to say:

I know, I know....the media is clueless. This kind of stuff just pisses me off though.

Monday Look Back: Xavier, Temple, URI give A-10 good name - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com

Accountability is always transferred to those without a voice. Cover Your A$$ 101

I like that.

This was just sent to Mr. Parrish... I am much like the OP, I know they are clueless but my blood boils when people spout off as experts regarding stuff they know nothing about. Sorry but I could not help myself!!!

You get the Irresponsible Journalist Award for the week (and the competition is stiff these days). Congratulations!!! Just because the game is near the end and tight does not give the coach license to run his mouth, be unsporting and berate an official. The coach cost his team a chance to win, not the T administered by the official. This is the kind of drivel that people read and then think it is socially acceptable to behave in unsporting ways because the game is close. Get real. How are you qualified to assess an official's body of work? Is it because of your vast knowledge of officiating rules and philosophy that you have attained over the years spending thousands of dollars of your own money and months at a time in the offseason at training clinics? Is it the hours you have spent reading over the Rule book and CCA Manual each year (bet you don't even know what "CCA" is without Google)? Is it the hours you've spent studying case plays and discussing various plays over the years with your officiating supervisors and colleagues? Please enlighten me on your qualifications to judge the quality of officiating? I will not hold my breath for a response as I know you have none of the above... nor do you have the capacity to formulate a reasonable response based on the elementary school writing I have experienced in your other articles. Stick to writing aboout what you do know about... I am not sure what that is, but it isn't officiating.

Well put- keep us posted if he writes back.

I like this. :D

Good note, I'm curious to hear how he will respond, if he does that is.

The "you can't make that call at this stage of the game" argument is tired, especially when you combine that with the cries of "be consistent".

So true, what a double standard!!!

I agree, the "let the players decide the game" statement was made to me last weekend at a JV tourney. This after calling this coaches player for diving on top of an opponent who had secured a loose ball.

Next game I get in the tourney was as a replacement for another ref (I was an emerg call in) and its this same team. Very well played game and it came down to a tie at the end of the game. Player steals the ball and is going in for a lay up. I am trail and my partner is right up ahead as lead and has a great view of the play. He has a patient whistle to allow the girl to make her lay up attempt. Clank hard off the board and front of the rim and out. Ohhh here come OT. BUt no, a late whistle and my partner comes up to me and says, I have to make this call she grabbed her from behind. I said great go ahead and report it.

Player hits the second of 2 shots and its game over. Coach comes up to me after and says sorry about his earlier comments. Bet hes glad we didn't let the players decide that game. (even though they did!)

... or with direction from the NCAA to make that call.

Huh? Part of the OP's argument against Parrish is that he (Parrish) had no knowledge of what Altman actually said to Gaston. Yet the OP asserts that Altman "earned" the T. Was the OP within earshoot of this particular conversation? Let's be consistent. All the other stuff I agree with.

Trust me. If you're playing a D-I game, it's in the last 30 seconds, the score is close and you get T'd up, you deserved it.

Seriously??? The author of the article has no clue about officiating. The OP and almost everyone else on here has a clue. What the OP is saying is that he is giving Gaston the benefit of the doubt as we as officials know that we take the issuance of such a penalty seriously (especially in game sitch as described) and don't just hand them out. Officials spend way to much time, money and effort in getting the big games that they aren't going to pi$$ that away giving a soft tech in a game deciding moment. I happen to know two of the three members on this crew personally, Gaston being one of the two and I know he conducted himself professionally, and within the spirit of the game. I can promise you that if the coach would have listened to the crew/ Gaston and let his complaint go when he was told that that was enough he would not have "earned" his T. Instead he opted to keep on with it and got burned.

Just a quick comment.

I see this as a weak action by your partner. Not the call, but having to "come up to" you and explain why he/she made the call.

Maybe your partner just said it in passing...but, if he/she has the call then be strong and go report it. Your partner didn't need your permission and I can just visualize him/her waffling if he/she had to discuss it with you before reporting.

JMO...but, if an official looks strong and confident on the court...it can alleviate some of the coaches whining and complaining...not always, but generally.

Fiasco says it much more concisely! LOL

Also, does anyone else find Mr. Parrish's sentence "Altman swears that he didn't use profanity" humorous??!! :D

Agreed, officials at this level know how to manage a game and I'm confident without knowing any particulars, Altman deserved it.

While I agree you're most likely correct, it's foolish of us to assume with 100% certainty that the official didn't get trigger happy. We're more likely right than Parrish, but officials have made bad calls before, and they will again. While I think it's likely Altman earned his T, it's possible he didn't.

Parrish was wrong to write the column. We're wrong to assume with certainty that the official was correct.

Creighton was up 72-70 on Saturday at George Mason when Justin Carter was called for a block with 18 seconds remaining. Like any coach would, Dana Altman protested the block/charge call, at which point Gaston hit Altman with a technical foul. So George Mason got two technical free throws, and Luke Hancock made them both. Then Cam Long, who was fouled on the play, hit one of two free throws to give George Mason a 73-72 lead.

Creighton, clearly rattled, turned the ball over on the ensuing possession.

Am I missing something? Ensuing means immediately following. It would be GM's ball following T.

No, GMU would have shot 2 free throws for the 'T' with the line cleared and then the POI would be the 2 "live" free throws for the original block call.

And the response:

Link

In a nutshell, Parrish still thinks the T was stupid, and even more so since the MVC commish came out and said the same.

If I was Gaston, I'd never work a game for the MVC again.

Commissioner Elgin is nothing more than an administrator. It is quite possible (or probable) he has no background in officiating and/or basketball.

He is also a commissioner whose team lost a bracket-buster game, he is not exactly a "neutral observer".

Agreed. The logic which Parrish is using to prove his point is rather weak.

But, should we be surprised? :rolleyes:

It makes no difference what we think. We're not the ones writing a newspaper or Internet article about a subject that we have absolutely no expertise in. We're not the ones misleading the public with myths and innuendo.

NCAA rules, sir. Unsporting Ts go to POI. Light bulb getting any electricity yet? ;)

My nomination for Post of the Week. :D

From the response:

If he really thinks none of those things are necessary, I'd love to see this guy work a middle school game.

I guess Mr. Parrish, the MVC Commish, the coach, and the others didn't see the latest memo from John Adams...


TO: NCAA Divisions I, II and III Coordinators of Men’s Basketball Officials.

FROM: John W. Adams, National Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officiating.

SUBJECT: Bulletin No. 1 and December 8, 2009, Teleconference Follow-Up.

1. So far this season, there seems to be an unwillingness to address shameful sideline behavior by coaches. I observed unacceptable behavior over Thanksgiving weekend that went unpunished, time after time. I attribute it to how some of the early season tournaments are assigned and also the unwillingness of some officials to ever address egregious sideline antics. Please remind the officials you assign, no matter what the venue, that you expect them to be fair and enforce all the rules evenly
throughout the game. Members of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, NCAA staff, the regional advisors and I are constantly monitoring games and noting the names of officials who refuse
to address or penalize unacceptable side line behavior. Quite honestly, I thought this issue was behind us. Please stress to the officials you coordinate that their job is not to be “nice guys” but rather
to create and manage a fair environment from 30 minutes before the game starts until the conclusion of the game. Please support those officials that handle things the “right way.”

Adams can pontificate all he wants, but reality is something entirely other.

I'm being squeezed out of a conference (it seems) because I took care of some egregious behavior. I called a late game technical last season when a coach refused to give me a substitute after a disqualifying foul, even after we had a second horn. While I can't be certain this is why I'm getting the squeeze, it's the only possible thing I can point to from last season.

So people have a choice to make. They can work their 120 game regular season schedules (like Steve Welmer) or they can sit home during non-conference stuff and potentially even conference stuff (since the commissioners may not use you anymore if you TCB and the coach whines enough).

If the NCAA took over the assigning, then Adams could talk as though he has some actual authority or control over the regular season. Till then, he can only withhold tournament assignments.

It has to be at a catholic school. I am a catholic and those parents may be the worst as a whole.:D

I'm sorry, I don't officiate NCAA. That's why I asked.

A little crisp today aren't we? Everything OK? Another sleepless night perhaps?

Someone told me a long time ago...."When you roll the dice, you just might crap out." It really does not matter if the official was trigger happy or not. All that matters is did the player/coach do something that is outlawed by the rules? If that is the case, you might run into the wrong person that might just take action. As a player or coach, you need to be aware that not everyone is going to give you a pass. It is like when you speed in one community and you never get a speeding ticket for going 5 miles over the speed limit, but you run into another community and you do get a ticket. You were wrong in both situations; one of those situations the powers that be took action.

Peace

Oh no! Not double secret probation!

It's always the late game T...
 

I can't comment on the TF being warranted or not because I don't have the facts.

The facts I do have is that Creighton committed 16 turnovers and 26 fouls which I guess doesn't have an affect on their ability to score points!?!?

So, obviously, the TF had to decide the game because they otherwise played a perfect game!

You can believe me when I tell you that you are preaching to the choir. I am no longer working any NCAA ball due to the fact that I did TCB in a game last year. (Team did not have roster/starters turned in to the scorer by 10 min. At 12 min, I personally went and pounded on their locker room door and told the coach it needed to be turned in. Coach said it would be turned in when it was turned in, which ended up being with less than 1 min. on the clock. So we started the game with the T) The supervisor then called me and reamed me for it, and demanded that I call my partners and tell them that "I f@cked up". I refused to do that, and so I am no longer on that supervisor's roster.

Wow. Just wow. The NCAA powers to be should hear that story. Like it would matter.

In the end, I'm OK with everything I did, too. I may not work that particular conference, but I've picked up 3 more in my efforts to replace those dates and I may be better off in the long run.

That's the right attitude to have and I commend you for it. Wish I could say that I was in the same place as you! Maybe in time...

Oh, I'm still angry, mainly because nobody has the balls to say exactly why I am not being scheduled. But life has to go on, so I'm working at getting the number of dates I want without those games.

In other words, I understand why the D-1 big-time guys don't whack people that deserve it at times. No good deed (it seems) goes unpunished.

So, in this conversation did your supervisor come right out and say that you should have not enforced the rule? Is he on the record with that?

Yes...and then told others they better not f@ck it up like I did.

Wow, that's amazing. I had a JuCo supervisor who dinged my Crew Chief b/c he did not check the book until the 7:00 mark.
Did your supervisor also say not to assess administrative T's for any bookkeeping infractions?


I remember a few years ago an ACC ref got "suspended" (or whatever the punishment was) when he called a 'T' on NC State in the ACC tourney for violating 10-2 art. 5c "After a team warning has been issued, failure to have the court ready for play after the final horn to end any timeout." after several incidents of spilling water on the court during times-out.

Pretty stupid. That supervisor does not deserve to have you on his roster and the schools and players are losing out.

Only with a weak coach.

Or just a smart one, who realizes he's not going to be able to manipulate the officials so he focusses on more reasonable endeavors.

Yep, you're correct. However, strong and confident quickly becomes "unapproachable and arrogant" should the film show poor judgment. That precipitates a lot of bad situations.

So which is it...a weak coach (as you said) or a smart coach (as snaqs said) and you agreed?

...and how did strong and confident get to unapproachable and arrogant?:rolleyes:

At least you can't be called a coward! :D

A certain poster has newfound respect for you.

There's a fine line between them.

On the other end, there's also a fine line between "relaxed and confident" and "bored / uncaring / acts like he doesn't want to be here."

If that guy could read instead of playing the word parsing game, he'd understand. Overconfident officials with big personalities that do not have judgment commensurate with they way they try and project get slaughtered, and most of the time they are very unaware of it. It's called narcissism or megalomania. Walter Mitty Syndrome.

I don't think that word has ever been applied to me...but thanks.