Late technical foul
 

I was working a second round boys game last night. We're in overtime with 1:15 left and the visiting team just scored to cut the home team's lead to two. We go to the other end of the floor, and one of the visiting team's guards tries to steal the ball and fouls the ball handler. I called the foul, we're in the bonus (1-1).

After I call the foul and am heading to the table, the player who committed the foul double backed, walked past me, shouted something out, made a gesture and continued with another gesture after I passed him. Without even giving it much thought, I called a technical foul. It was only after I called the technical and we were heading to the free throw line that I realized that he's the one who came to me from across the court late in regulation after a foul and asked me if that wasn't really my partner's call, to which I told him, "Get out of here."

The player who was fouled sank all 4 free throws and they then hit a layup on the ensuing possession. Just like that, it went from 2 to 8 and it was over. The final was an 11 point margin.

Naturally, I did a bit of second guessing of myself in the bar and then I said something to my partner that kinda cleared it up for me: First, I simply reacted to what happened -- I would've just as easily called this a technical foul in the second quarter as I did in overtime. I have to say, the visiting coach took the call about as well as can be expected -- my partner talked to him and told him that knowing me as well as he does, there's no way I'd call a technical foul unless it was warranted, in any situation.

Still, up until the technical foul, I think both teams (sincerely) thought, as did we, that we had called a great game. I don't think that changed with the technical, either, well for the most part, anyway. Even in the article in the paper today the visiting coach references two possessions in the fourth quarter and not the technical as the point where the game swung.

Why is it that I feel a bit sad, then, about how it ended?

Because we hate to see players end a game by being so stupid.

Because you just attended Jurassic's sensitivity training seminars?

Because you're human. Would you have felt better if you passed and his team won? As JR says "you took care of bidness" Sounds like a well deserved T as you describe it.If anyone should fell bad it's the player who lost his cool.

What did your partners think?

Most of us don't do this for the money. We officiate because we love the game of basketball. The player who earned the technical which you issued disrespected the game and helped cause a swing in points that contributed to the outcome. Like most who love the game you would have preferred to see the game play out somewhere other than the free throw line for a technical foul.

You didn't dictate the outcome, you called what deserved to be called. It just didn't play out the way you, the coaches, the other players or the fans deserved.

Exactly what he told the coach. If I called the technical, then it was there. I wouldn't make one up. And BTW, we work 2-person until the third round (regional final) here. To me, it's the #1 reason 3-person hasn't taken off -- if 2-person is good enough for the first two rounds, it certainly is good enough for the regular season.

Like I told my partner over a cold one, I'm not sure if I should be bothered with the thought process on calling it -- like I said to him, I didn't even think about it. He simply tripped my technical trigger and I called it. It was only afterwards I realized that we had a minute or so left in OT and it was the same player from earlier. Even then I simply got the shooter (who shot the 1-1 and the technicals) and got right back to work. I never actually talked to the coach -- my partner did -- and we put it right back into play after the FTs.

You did the right thing. As you said yourself, you simply reacted to the situation. If it would be a technical in the first quarter, then it should be a technical in the last minute. I think most officials would prefer to not have to call a T at that point of the game and wish the players and coaches would just do their job and not force us to make that call. But they are the ones who are responsible for the T. I personally dislike working with guys who won't take care of business.

Good call. Sportsmanship doesn't go away even though the stakes are higher.

I want to start off by saying I respect your posts and advice - you are one of the few that I consistently pay attention to here. I enjoyed your video regarding the phantom 5-second call immensely, even though that was not one of your shiniest moments, I admire that you posted it.

So with that said, I am curious why you think you felt sad about the ending to your game. I agree with everyone else for the most part, and I know that I would feel the same as you had this happened to me. Just very interested to know your thoughts about how you felt afterwards. And if you feel better about it now that you're heard from your peers, or if this is something that will stick with you throughout the off-season. I know I would probably be thinking about it for a long time.

I felt sad because it was truly a great HS basketball game and, rightly or wrongly, the focus in the minds of some (or many) will be on the technical foul and on the officials rather than the game.

It's a weird business we're in. We want to get noticed and appreciated by the right people by doing the right things, but at the same time we try to blend into the background and not be noticed by the rest of the people. 22 years in and I'm still not sure I understand it 100% of the time. But I get to go back out tonight and do it all over again.

Great answer. And if you thought you understood it 100% of the time, I probably wouldn't respect your posts as much. For what it's worth...

Rich must have missed the one where I said "Screw the l'il sh!t. And don't worry about it either. He got exactly what he deserved."

Disagree.

That technical called itself. You just went along for the ride.:)

I had a similar situation at the end of the regular season. Had a great game going, competitive and everything, a kid from a team with only 1 loss called a timeout at the end of the game to prevent from going oob, unfortunately they were out of time outs. I had no choice on the play but to grant the request. I felt terrible about it, but in the end, we just have to call the game in front of us. The players' actions decide the outcome.

I can't tell you how much I respect officials that have the stones to call the T in your situation. It was the right call. I'd work with you anytime if you take care of business like that.

Don't feel bad about the way it ended-based on your post you called what needed to be called! I'd love to have you work my games :D:D:D:D

Tastes Great, Less Filling ???
 

I do this all the time after games. Miller, or Miller Lite?

Kid earned the technical. He got what he earned. Well done.

Perhaps because of these two things.

Completely aside from the point of the validity of the T, you probably would have liked to have collected your thoughts for a second and considered whether you wanted to make this call, then if you decided, "Yep, got to give it to him," you do so without any afterthoughts.

As it was your postgame unhappiness may be coming from your reaction to the situation and the admitted lack of thought which you put into the decision. We expect ourselves to be calm in the tense, high-pressure moments and hold ourselves to a very high standard.

Of course, this is not to say that a call made from an initial reaction in such circumstances isn't the fairest one possible. There is much that can be said in favor of making the determination in that manner.

This brings up an interesting point. I personally have NEVER given a technical quickly, spontaneously, as apparently happened here, then later said to myself that I should not have made the call. On the other hand, there are countless times when I have said later, "I should have T'd him up,"
when I had not made the call at all. And of course, there are situations in between: He better calm down.......that's enough.......Whack!

My conclusion is that maybe I should call more of the quick spontaneous variety, but there is no definitive answer to this question.

Iowa....well put. The part I highlighted in blue I think speaks for the majority of us here.
Rich......good job!

Not pertaining to Rich's T, but just in general, how many of us agree with the above statement?

I believe that there is a school of thought that espouses that late in close games the decisions of the officials have greater impact and also the emotions of the coaches and players are higher, hence the threshold for what qualifies as unsporting behavior is also elevated.

Thoughts?

I think that that particular school of thought needs to grow some cojones. They're looking for a reason not to have to call the "T". And they'll always find one.

The focus of some (or many) might be on the player who earned the T. If you had not delivered on the T, this particular player would think he could get away with this behavior.

You know, I've had some time to think about Thursday night and the technical, and I'm fine with it.

This same school of thought is the same that people have when they think officials shouldn't call a foul on the last possession because it could decide the game.

I could've passed on the technical foul, sure. I could've pretended there were no gestures, no unsportsmanlike words. Had I simply reported the foul he would've calmed himself down eventually, sure. I imagine there are a lot of officials that would've turned themselves away from the kid to not see what was happening "behind his back."

How is that fair to the game or to the other team's players who maintained composure even when they were down 5 points in the fourth quarter?

I'd like to think that my "reaction" was based on my 22 years of experience -- it certainly wasn't out of anger. It was the same reaction and the same "patient whistle" I'd apply on a shooting foul -- I probably took three steps towards the table before I brought my whistle up and called the technical. Those of you who have done this a while probably know what I mean when I say how it's amazing you can be working a game that's so important to the kids and teams and to you it's just Thursday.

And I have to give the visiting coach credit. There was a lengthy article in the paper with quite a few quotes and he didn't blast the officiating or the kid for getting the technical -- he chose to blame some missed bunnies in the fourth quarter that brought the home team back into the game.

If you think I'm second-guessing because it means I'm sorry I called it, I'm coming across the wrong way. I re-examine a lot of calls I make during a game and this is no different.

Last week, boys playoff, late first half, home team had a double digit lead. H1 drives, pulls up, and gives a head fake. V1 is fooled, leaves his feet and lands on top of him. Foul is called. V1 lands on the floor. H1 turns away from V1 and throws the ball to the floor behind him. I couldn't tell if it hit V1 or just spiked right in his face, but the official called the T. Now, instead of H possession, V make 2 free throws, then inbound and hit a 3. Huge play.

2 minutes left in the game. Visitors now up 1 or 2. V2 drives and scores. Here's H1 again. I don't know if he thought V2 pushed off or what, but he yells "Come on, ref!" He gets his second T. V now get 2 more free throws plus the ball back, and they go on to win by double digits.

No one likes to hang a loss on one player, but this was extreme.

I don't think anyone thought this official took the game away. He simple made two calls which needed to be made.

"Bugs" In The Locker Room ???
 

A few years ago we had a very obnoxious coach who, after a serious injury to one of his players, who had been fouled, which was called, complained to me, and my partner, that some additional foul calls, previous to the injury, could have prevented the injury. He did this while both he, and his trainer, were attending to the injured player. We just moved further away from the "injury pow wow" to encourage the coach to just tend to his player. This was just a few minutes before halftime. During halftime my partner and I discussed the situation, and we both agreed that neither of us had charged a technical foul because both of us, independently, decided that a technical foul charged, in this particular situation, would have called attention away from the serious injury to the player. We both agreed that in the second half that the coach would have absolutely no leeway in terms of unsporting behavior. We left the locker room intent on charging a technical foul. First, and only time, in twenty-nine years, that I was "targeting" a coach. Wouldn't you know it, the coach didn't make a single complaint in the entire second half.

A missed chance. If something like this happens again, the technical will be charged, in a quiet manner, after the injured player is attended to. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, double shame on me.

Because just as fans and coaches hate to see late calls that can decide games, referees hate to make late calls that may appear to have an effect on deciding a game. But sounds like you did what you had to do. A kid has to control his emotions in that situation.

Disagree completely. I've never met a referee yet that hated to make a late call for that reason.

Referees just call the game. It's the fans' and coachs' job to second-guess them. And it's a fans' and coachs' fantasy also that we don't want to have an effect on the game at the end. The player that committed that late violation or foul is the one that is having the effect on the game, not us. All we're doing is reporting it.

Any referee that hates to make a late call because that call might have an effect on deciding a game should consider taking up a different avocation. Officiating isn't meant for them. And we really don't need 'em either.

I had a situation a couple of seasons ago. Visitors were playing their hearts out and were right with the home team, who had only lost 1 or 2 games all year. Home team had a 1 pt lead with less than 30 seconds left. Vistors had the ball in the forecourt. I was trail and was probably about 5 feet from the VC. His player was trying to dribble past her opponent who reached out her arm and impeded her. I whistled the foul with less than 10 seconds left.

We're in the bonus and a TO is called. During the TO my partner asked if I yelled "Hands off!" I thought to myself, "What a donkey! I'm 5 ft from the VC and I'm going to yell 'hands off' at that point in the game instead of calling the foul?" The call was met with boos, but it was the right call to make. This particular official has a reputation of not making tough calls.

Equus asinus ???
 

C'mon 26 Year Gap? Is that what you really thought? Are you sure that what you thought was actually a synonym for a male donkey? Possibly a donkey who's first name is Jack?

No, that is what I thought of him when he wanted me to tell a player to get out of the lane who had picked up her dribble and had no opening to pass or shoot.

I don't need to dispute your assertion, because the post directly under yours from a referee about a referee does that for me better than I could. :p

Except that you made a broad generalization and I did not.

It might not in fact dispute what JR said. He's using the term 'referee' as a success term: you know, the way 'winner' used to denote somebody who had actually won.

Just because you're out there with a whistle, doesn't make you a referee in that sense.

The particular partner I referenced is not held in high esteem by the assn. He is NOT representative of a typical official. In nearly 25 years of calling games, he has never been to a division semifinal. It is likely that will continue to be the case. I only brought up the incident to illustrate that anybody who will not make a call with a game on the line has gone as far as he will go. Not that all officials think & act like him.

I have a lot to learn myself. But I have learned a lot of 'do nots' from officials like him, so for that, at least, I am thankful.

Plus, I'm Always Buying ...
 

Hey? Twenty-nine years and not a single state tournament game for me. Post season conference and league championship games? Yes. Holiday tournament games? Yes. Big rivalry regular season varsity games? A few each season. I consider myself to be a hard working, professional, "journeyman" official. I'm always trying to improve my rules knowledge, mechanics, game management skills, etc. I go to camps, clinics, and often observe our best officials in regular season, and tournament games. I'm an active member of our local board's training committee and take my role as a "mentor" to young officials very seriously.

I hope that you wouldn't mind me being your partner. You would find that I'm a partner who eats, drinks, and sleeps basketball during the season, and during the offseason as well. I would be a partner who you could trust, and I would be one of your partners who would trust you. I would always have your back, and never throw you under the bus.

Not at all. Ratings in VT are done by fellow officials and the assignors put crews on playoff games based on those ratings. My guess is that you would fare better with that type of system.