In response to your question, Jetmet, I think it is going to be much harder for the players/coaches to adjust than the officials. As officials, we don't have to change much at all. We have always seen the contact with the hands and arms. In the past, we had to use some judgment to decide if that was affecting the play or not. Now we just have to call what we see. I think this is a minor adjustment. The players and coaches have to completely rethink and rework how they have been playing or coaching defense for years. Pretty much every aspect of how they guard ball handlers needs to be changed. This is much more drastic than what we as officials have to change.

I think the commentary previously in this thread about the MSU-KY game is spot-on. The players literally often looked incredulous about many of the fouls they were being called for, as though they're mostly unaware of what they're doing that's being penalized. I think it's going to take a lot of film breakdown to analyze and personally see what they're doing and being called for before it starts to click for them in practice and in games.

I worked a preseason D1 men's intrasquad scrimmage, and the HC was A) asking us to call it as tightly as the POE's/preseason video stated, and B) frequently stopping the game to insert coaching points on how to play (primarily perimeter) defense without violating.

I think it's just going to take a lot of proactive work with their teams by the coaching staffs, consistent enforcement by the officials (which, by watching the games on TV last night, is happening so far), and HC's not throwing the officials or the POE's under the bus in pressers and on-court interviews.

It's certainly having a positive effect on how those guys play defense, though. Lots of hands up. I personally love it.

Like anything else in life, people hate change at first, but eventually they realize the change is for the better. In this case, players will learn to play the game the correct way, and at that point the number of fouls per game will go down. Basketball won't turn into a "foul shooting contest."

I don't know who it was but there was one guy on that crew that was driving me batty. He just had to quadruple tweet just about everything and over sell even basic calls. It made it look like it was his first time there.

The crew was Mike Kitts, Pat Driscoll and Ted Valentine. I think Driscoll is the one you're talking about.

You are correct. I knew the other two but didn't know his name/face.

I watched my first live D1 game of the year over the weekend. If NCAA officials call the entire season like that game, it is going to be an awful year to watch basketball. I am completely in favor of cleaning up hand checks, but this was unbelievable. They absolutely refused to call an offensive foul. One ball handler (Who was not airborne) ran over a defensive player who was camped in the lane, block was called. Several different times defenders would maintain position in the lane and stay vertical, while dribblers would initiate contact and jump into the defender, only to have the defender called for a block. Eventually both teams just started putting their heads down and driving to the basket because the defenders would just get out of the way in fear of being called for a foul if ANY contact occured. There were 63 fouls total, with 88 free throws being shot. 2.5 hours total with no overtime.

Did the NCAA tell officials to quit using judgment and just call a foul on the defense when any contact occurs? That's what it looked like to me.

Yes, this is exactly what they told us....get used to it:rolleyes:

No, the NCAA-Mens coordinator has not told officials that; but I would agree some officials seem to be calling it that way.

The NCAA did just release a video highlighting a couple of correctly called PC fouls.

Is it possible to link those videos?

Sure, fork over the $100 to join the NCAA arbiter site and you can have unlimited access to those videos and more.

Is that every year? If it was a one-time fee I'd do that right now.

Every year.

I would rather watch the game the old way than watch 88 free throws be shot, and I was on board with cleaning up the game and calling hand checks.

After players adapt to the way games are being called, hopefully there won't be that many more FT attempts.