Steve Welmer
 

Watching the Georgetown/Missouri game tonight and Doug Gottlieb mentioned that Steve Welmer hurt his knee two nights ago and has decided to retire.

I know there are those who will criticize him and his lack of a Final Four, but I for one will miss him greatly... the man is a master at game management, mainly due to his demeanor.

And with that it's sad to think that a great drinking game has come to an end too. :D

Best wishes to Steve in retirement.

Speaking of....

I heard J.D. Collins retired too. Anyone know anything?

Being 6'9" never hurt, either!!!

This would be Steve's third major injury in the past two years. Tiem waits for no man.

gonna have to find a new one now.

How about Ed Hightower?

Compare College Basketball Referees: Ed Hightower vs Steve Welmer - StatSheet.com

or

http://statsheet.com/mcb/referees/co...r3_season=2007

I'm not aware of a drinking game associated with Mr. Hightower.

Was just giving out ideas was all.

I kinda remembered most of the D1 talk was about Welmer & Hightower.

As I can attest to. About a week ago I decided that this will be my last year of basketball. At 62, I think I've outlasted many my age and with a full varsity schedule, I believe that I am leaving while still fully able to do a good job.

Oh, how the game has changed since 1973. Life is too short and youth is wasted on the young!

We could easily invent one.

First thought: Every time he birddogs, drink.

J.D had a knee replacement this past spring and he retired. He talked about it at a camp I was at. Very sad story if you value officiating.

Peace

Or anytime a call is "sold". :D

Good for you to realize this Forks.

We have a 69 yr old official in our association. While his mechanics and knowledge are good, he just can't make it up and down the court anymore. Someone is gonna have to break the news to him, soon.......

Jeff,

Thanks. That's basically what I heard... always enjoyed watching him work.

So You've Seen Me Work ???
 

Thanks for reminding me. I need to purchase another bottle of aspirin. Hopefully I'll find a "Buy one, get one free" sale at CVS.

The King Is Dead, Long Live The King ...
 

Livers of the world rejoice.

That sucks. JD was one my favorites to watch.

How about when he bends over and puts his hands on his knees to get a "better look" in the lead position? Or anytime he leans?

With Welmer being so tall. What does everyone think about height in officiating?

Not really relevant imo. Getting into and staying in position as well as getting the right angles to see what's going on has nothing really to do with height. Combine that with presence, rules knowledge and good judgment and game management and you're gonna get a well officiated game imo, no matter how tall or short the official may be.

I suppose it can help with "presence," but I've known some shorter officials who have great presence on the court. And I've known some taller officials who have almost zero "presence."

At least with Welmer you had a slim chance of seeing the end of the game, not with this one.

I agree. I haven't been in officiating long, but have heard a lot about being over 6' with regards to court presence and picking up the pivot foot and being aware of whats going on closer to the floor in regards to pivoting and having eyes higher up

Backing up a step or two usually takes care of "eyes higher up" when you want or need to get your eyes higher up. And needing to get your eyes higher up is only applicable to some situations anyway at L, C or T. Sometimes it's your job to get the contact or foot movements below.

I've found that the need for an official to get their eyes higher up is usually a case of that official being too close to the play.

I agree with that also, I find myself too close sometimes and having to back out. It just seems difficult for me to referee down low sometimes.

Keep backing. :D

And move around to get a good angle if you can on the separation between a shooter and a defender, or on opponents rebounding. Sometimes though you just can't get a good look and you have to depend on help from your partner(s).

Thanks JR!

Isn't it a shame that we don't realize that when we're young?

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