Tell that to our commissioners that got poed watching this antic at at the state finals a few years ago and was brought up explicitly at the next state meeting.

Let me ask you this: does your association have bigger fish to fry? Are the powers that be that don't like this still officiating? If so, are they good?

What would you choose:

a. A great official that uses the "fist to hips" block signal repeatedly
b. A good official that has good signals
c. An average official that has great signals

I'm not saying you can't have one without the other, but we are often guilty of worrying about the ants instead of taking care of the elephants.

Yes, that would be a travel in any game I'm working.

These are the guys in charge of the state tournament and are not current officials.

Ohio HSAA is notorious in both basketball and football for having their own way to officiate the game (for example, the team control signal is expressly banned as it's "confusing"). And they would tell you they have plenty of great officials with good signals that they don't need to give tournament games to great officials with bad signals.

To me Crawford looks like a clown. I can't take that kind of officiating seriously outside of a Globetrotters game. But your mileage my vary. It certainly hasn't harmed Crawford's career.

I would think that for State Tournament games, they want good play callers first.

I have never heard fists or hands to the hips as a decisive reason for selecting one official over another. Someone has lost their perspective.

Sure, Joe Crawford likes to sell a call or two, but from the games I watch, but like that is highly unusual. In fact, if you look at his offensive foul calls, it's probably one of the most understated ones you'll see. The NBA, as a matter of fact, doesn't really have officials that ever go overboard.

The more demonstrative the gyrations, the more incorrect the call usually is ;)

The pool of good play callers is larger than the available officiating slots. The guy who looks professional is going to be picked over the guy who doesn't when they are both good at play calling.

Fair enough.

Agree with this. When I watch games that's one thing I notice. Do they have style? Style is hard to describe though.

Fwiw, I bang my hips once or twice on the preliminary signal but report it properly to the table.

Old Habits Die Hard ...
 

Pretty much the same for me, except I only bang my hips once at the site of the foul (preliminary signal), and then I report to the table with the proper signal.

Kind of a hair splitter - but definitely not a block, IMO.

And certainly NOT a travel. He's still dribbling when his right foot goes down. Then he steps forward with his left foot without lifting the right one. How can that be a travel?

I do think Joey C could have limited himself to THREE thrusts, though ;)

Gotta love it! :D

The travel occurs before he dribbles.