let the play finish?

[fiasco]

Originally Posted by Tio

This is a great question and there are multiple teaching points.

The key here is we should almost always try to have a patient whistle at the "finish" of the play vs. whistling a foul at the start or develop stages. This will allow us to see the whole play and allow players to try and make an athletic move. Sometimes there is borderline contact that does not affect a shooter's ability to score a basket.

Second, in regard to rebounding action, there are 2 times we call fouls: 1. Possession/Consequence which means the wrong team gets the ball as result of illegal contact. (In your scenario there was no possession/consequence). 2. Is for cleanup... we see an action that we do not want to see again or allow to escalate. Did you play fit this description?

Our role as officials is to make the game fair. We also have a responsibility to promote a good flow and not put unnecessary whistles in the game. If you have to call a marginal "and one" keep in mind you have to call the same play a foul the entire game. Was your call good for the game?

I would ask the Sr. official for more details on what you could have done differently. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to learn and improve.

I wonder, though if this whole "let the play develop" philosophy may be starting going by the wayside.

John Adams was interviewed in Slam magazine recently and said basically he'd like to see the NCAA move away from officiating being an art and a philosophy and become more of a science.

What Adams has been trying to weed out of the college game, among other things, is the hand check by the defender with the referee waiting to see if it disrupts the play. Adams insists a foul is a foul, whether the dribbler loses control or not. It used to be calls were made along the lines of “advantage/disadvantage.” Interpretation: There had to be some mayhem for a foul to be called.

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