L in Three-Person "Reaching Across the Lane"???

[reffish]

Get in position.
Get the open look.
Don't guess.
When the lead is "reaching across the lane," it is hard for the lead to be in position, have the open look and not guess.
The lead needs to work hard to get the crew in the right position to ref the plays. If this is a fast break, then trust the C to make the right call. If not, look at why the lead did not rotate. And if the reason is because of post play on the lead's side, why would the lead look at the shooter across the lane. If the lead feels the need to officiate on that play, then rotate.

[berserkBBK]

We pregame how we want to divide the lane if we even want to at all. With some crews L owns the paint otherwise we go 50/50. C can have a whistle in the paint, but it is L's primary.
However we do say that L NEEDS to get over so we can get it right

[JRutledge]

As a general rule no it is not the best look on most plays. But there are times when a play is coming to the basket the L has a great look at things the C might get screened off of. If it is a common occurance then it can be a problem. But there are situations where this is OK and sometimes the L can see other defenders coming over to defend the basket better.

I have learned over the years to stop with the absolutes. I do not make many calls across the lane and usually move to get there, but I might look across when my line is threatened and see a bump out of bounds, but that is not common I would not be coming over. I just think we need to get in position to make calls and sometimes it is about angles, not specific positions.

Peace

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

sometimes it is about angles, not specific positions.

+1 Most of the time, even.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

As a general rule no it is not the best look on most plays. But there are times when a play is coming to the basket the L has a great look at things the C might get screened off of. If it is a common occurance then it can be a problem. But there are situations where this is OK and sometimes the L can see other defenders coming over to defend the basket better.

I have learned over the years to stop with the absolutes. I do not make many calls across the lane and usually move to get there, but I might look across when my line is threatened and see a bump out of bounds, but that is not common I would not be coming over. I just think we need to get in position to make calls and sometimes it is about angles, not specific positions.

Peace

I'm not one who reaches across often, but that's mainly because I'm an active L who doesn't hesitate to rotate frequently, sometimes a few times per possession.

If I do get in a position where I can't get over in time, I'll pinch the paint and recognize that the angle I get might be the only one that picks something up. I'm not going to pass on an obvious foul just cause it's a step outside the lane. That said, if it's a 50/50 thing (or even a 75/25 thing), I'll let my C decide for himself if we need a whistle.

Regardless, I'm not going to apologize for making a call a step out of the lane across the lane. And I'm not going to be pissed if my partner comes and gets that when I'm the C, either. We're a team out there.

Last night we had a play where a player drove baseline in front of the L and he no-called it. From my view as the C, if it was anything it was a block as the defender closed ground while the shooter was airborne (and as I was watch players position themselves for rebounds, I really didn't have a great look). The L no called it, (and it was probably the proper call in the situation based on what I did see and what the T caught in his periphery). The home coach went a bit crazy wanting a PC foul and when he came onto the court, the third official (the T) whacked him. I was the only one "not involved" so I went right over to the bench and absorbed a lot of stuff while sitting the coach down. He never argued the technical, but rather kept saying that we needed to "help the young son-of-a-gun out" there. But while I had a look at the play and saw a possible block, I had a L right in front of that with the perfect look -- so that's what I mean. It's not an elephant and not a situation where I may have had a better look, so there's no way I'm putting air in my whistle there.

[doubleringer]

Originally Posted by berserkBBK

We pregame how we want to divide the lane if we even want to at all. With some crews L owns the paint otherwise we go 50/50. C can have a whistle in the paint, but it is L's primary.
However we do say that L NEEDS to get over so we can get it right

I applaud the fact that you pregame this coverage, but wouldn't we all be better off if crews used the mechanics manual rather than doing their own thing?

I work very hard not to call across the paint. About the only time I do go is if there is a secondary defender sliding over from my area, in which case I'lll have a better look at LGP for that player than my C. If I'm calling anything on the other side of the lane, I'm definitely going to be pinched. I don't have the numbers, but I'm told that there was a study the NCAA did a few years ago that when the L goes across, they are wrong much more often. To me, the problem with going across the paint, or going out of your area to make a call is that more often than not, you're not seeing the entire play, which means you're making an educated guess. Just my $.02 of course.