Referee The Defense
 

"Referee the defense" is something we hear quite a lot. I've found though that those three words can be somewhat difficult to explain, and mean something slightly different to many officials. I'm curious to hear what that phrase means to many of you and how you apply it to your game.

Since I asked the question, I will go first. The way I interpret that statement and apply it is to first focus on the defender when watching any match-up in my primary. By focusing on the defender first, I can easily determine when legal guarding position is obtained, and then watch any movement with the play to determine if LGP is maintained. When there is contact with the defender, knowing when LGP was obtained and maintained is critical in determing which player was responsible for the contact.

How about others?

Some thoughts.....
 

Pick up the defender(s) in your Primary so that you can determine if the defender did anything wrong. If not, they should not be penalized even if there is substantial contact.

Has the defender established Legal Guarding Position (LGP)?

Position yourself to see ball handler, defender and the space in between. Get a good angle.

Stay far enough away from the play to see both feet and upper body without having to move your head or feet. Don't lean or bend (I get gigged for this sometimes).

Recognize when the play starts and let it develop and finish, then make the call or no call.

Also, don’t penalize the defender for athleticism or height differences.

Bottom Line: Don't penalize the defense for playing good defense.


Just some edited thoughts pulled from some references......

All this statement means is "Watch the defense so when contact takes place, you know who did something illegal."

That is basically it. The defense is allowed to do many things legally and if you focus only on the defense you will penalize the defense more than they need to be.

Peace