Rick Riley Artcle on ESPN.com
 

Thought everyone on the site would have fun with this one. Plus I'd be interested to hear if there are any guys on here who have officiated some of these games and what their thoughts were.

ESPN The Magazine - Rick Reilly: A high school basketball coach runs up the score - ESPN

In FL, there is a 35 point rule. If you are up by 35 in the second half, the clock is running except for timeouts & the end of the qtr. Something like that passes in TX, problem solved.

I think the other coaches should get together and refuse to play this team. Taking a forfeit is much better than being belittled and having it rubbed in. Someone should bolt this to his head with a jackhammer.

http://www.miaa.net/student-services/sportsmanship.JPG

They might be in some kind of a conference that prohibits it. [not the emblem--the ability to forfeit]

I know I'll take some heat for saying this, but if he's up 75 and still pressing, I'm calling a foul on every steal. Anything close to contact gets a whistle. If he says anything other than "I get the message", he gets whacked.

He is everything that is wrong with high school sports. Shameful. :mad:

Very good article!

I agree completely with those who say that this guy is everything wrong with HS basketball. He needs to be FIRED as an example to other coaches who think this is a perfectly acceptable practice! This would not be possible in California as we also have the mercy rule which runs the game clock when the spread reaches 40 in the 4'th quarter. The AD's in his league need to realign and motion to eject them from their league! If that does not work I would forfeit out of principle as an opposing administrator/coach.

As much as I might not like a coach's tactic, I'm not going to make up fouls that aren't there.

The other thing which is notable from an official's perspective, is that the whining and sarcasm in a game like this tends to come from the side which is losing.

"I guess they never foul."

"Oh, yeah, he called another one on us."

"Come on, call something."

You're down 60 and I'm the one to blame?

I think many take it for granted that the officials will/should "help us out a little bit."

And many officials will. It is hard not to sometimes, and not something anyone is likely to complain about even if it is obvious that it is happening.

But it ain't part of our job.

I have had two of these types of blow outs the last two years but they were both different. In one game, the team won by 85 points. However, the winning team did not press, ran what I would imagine would be EVERYone of their offensive sets all the way through and did not fast break. All of the players played, the skill level was just that disproportionate.
In the other game the team ended up winnig 125-24. This team however had their stars in the whole game (2 girls only got in for less than 2 minutes at the end). They continued to press and fast break all nite. While I was not going to make up any fouls, I was going to have a lower tolerance of contact from the winning team. Most of the time the losing team would just dribble it off their feet etc. I remember calling one foul on the losing team and the coach wanted to know why I called that ticky tack foul when her team was losing by so much. I replied "Coach, I figured you would want to set up a defense instead of giving up a fast break" She smiled and agreed. I figured we LET that type of call go for a team SCORING a lay up, why not switch it!!! This type of 'coaching' has no place in HS sports.
(As a side note, a team this year beat a team 84-4. Their coach told them that they either had to score 100 or hold the other team under 10 or they would run. While this team won the conference, none of the coaches voted for this coach as COY - which traditionaly goes to the coach of the conf champs - and only put 1 of his players on the first team all Conference squad!)

Administrators need to grow some and stand up to this. It's prep sports and teaches nothing otherwise.

What a A$$ BAG!!!!

Jerk.

Nuf sed.

You won't take heat from me.

I call these games straight up. I am such a small part of the process, I don't feel I have any place inserting myself into the coach's a$$baggery.

I worked a 73-12 game on Tuesday night. I've seen talk of a mercy rule / running clock and frankly, I don't see it as necessary in basketball. Game's over pretty quick as it is.

WOW 73-12? I hope that wasn't post-season action. Talk about game management!

First round. About half of the first round games, especially on the girls side, are complete blowouts. It's what happens when even the 0-22 teams get in.

We called a grand total of 6 fouls on the home team. The visiting team didn't shoot a single free throw and made only 5 baskets (2 threes) the entire game.

It's unfortunate that you had THAT game, but I guess they want as many kids participating as possible at this level.

My home state did it the same way. Every now and then a team who was 8-12 would win their way to the state tournament.

Whats up Snaqs, you still working?

My season's over. Can't work middle school at home because they start too early. You?

I got lucky! They gave me a mid-major...

Well done!

Appreciate it! Still kinda unbelievable though...

First of all, in a blow out, I try to call the same game I normally do.

As far as the coach, how is a school supposed to fire a coach for winning by too much? Yeah, I don't agree with him pressing all the time, but it is his job to coach his kids. If he wants them to be able to press, then they need to run a press in game situations.

I know this isn't the popular train of thought around here, but if teams don't want to get beat by 100, work harder, get better and compete. Don't whine about not being able to stop the other team. It sounds to me like everyone on the bench plays, perhaps they are all just very good. In life and sports, you have to learn how to win and learn how to lose. Sometimes you win big, but on the other hand, any time you step out on the floor, you run the risk of losing big.

The article talks about a kid fouling to stop the clock to get to the 100 point win barrier. Do we know this is the coach's idea, or perhaps the kid did this on his own? Maybe the kid was disciplined in practice the next day?

I'm actually with doubleringer on this; with one change. We are expected to "manage" these types of games in ways I'd prefer not to. It's not a hill worth dying on for me, though, so I wear the toga as I'm told to.

Having been on the bottom end of a few of these games, I turned out just fine thanks. Honestly, it's no more embarrassing to get beat 100-23 than it would be to get beat 78-18.

Basketball must be really bad in Texas or that area if they are putting 100 on multiple teams.

I thought when we first heard that this was an isolated incident. This is common place.

Peace

Houston basketball is pretty good, especially in HISD. I think Yates is just THAT good.

They might be THAT good, but I have seen teams around here where they had multiple D1 or NBA type players on their teams. And they did not dominate teams like this. Maybe they could have, but they did not always win a state title with all that talent. I just am saying that does not make the area look good.

Peace

Basketball in Houston is extremely good and can hang with anyplace in the country... I promise you. Yates is just that good. #1 in the nation for a very good reason.

I will take you word for it, but it just makes me wonder. And I really do not put much stock in media rankings when many of these teams do not play other big time teams across the country. That is about as valuable as a preseason poll on college football. It is mostly based on reputation and not what you really accomplished.

Peace

somewhat true... but they have travelled around the states and played in at least two and I think three tournaments around the country this year with many premier schools as invitees and destroyed all of them... You have never seen a group of players on one team with the quicks and hops that they have up and down their line up. I have seen teams that have 2 or three players on their HS team with that kinda of talent but not 8 or 9 like Yates has... Houston bball is stout.

I understand they play some good talent and they travel, but they do not play a lot of the top players all the time. That would be nearly impossible unless states just threw out their standards and allowed teams to play as much as they can. I am just saying this because even our top teams only play so much outside of the area. And many like Derrick Rose is now a big time NBA player and All-Star and they were not highly ranked nationally as a team. And they beat Oak Hill in a game in Chicago. Just saying rankings are great, but that does not mean they could not be beat. And I think the truth is where these kids go for college (or pro) and what impact they have. That is a better barometer if you ask me about the quality of talent they play. And one of the reasons I say this is also I see some really good players that are not even that big time go to college and become very special players like at the college ranks and you hardly heard of them. Let alone the others that are making a big impact like Sheron Collins of Kansas and Jon Scheyer of Duke. I do not know that they would blow teams out around here consistently by scoring 100 points. Maybe I am wrong, but just a guess.

Peace

Agree with most of what you said. However Houston can name many big time D1 players and some NBA talent as well. And I am not so sure they wouldn't consistently hang a 100 on teams in your area either... I maybe wrong as well but there is no way to tell. My whole point was to say that your suspicion of the quality of basketball in the area based on this anomaly is poor is unfounded (really bad sentence structure but it is late and I don't have the energy to fix it)

I know Houston has good basketball. But they are putting a 100 consistently on many teams. Or blowing them out by over 100 points. It just makes me wonder that is all. It does not mean much of anything, I just find it odd.

Peace

I worked a game last year between the top AAU team from the Houston area and the top AAU team from Chicagoland. Single most athletic game I ever officiated. Most "posterized" dunks I ever had in a game. Houston had a kid who missed a couple of dunks because he was jumping too high. :eek:

one of those games where defense was "but a rumor," eh? :(

Not the greatest defense, but they weren't playing matador defense. The offensive talent was just outstanding.