Politics of Basketball

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Welpe

I posted my woes on here last season and it lead to a pretty decent discussion on the matter. Incidentally, the largest chapter in this area has gone from one of the most disorganized cluster youknowwhats to one of the better organized ones. A lot of that had to do with the voting in of new leadership and the willingness of the membership to improve it.
...

Exactly. An officiating association isn't North Korea. Changes can be, and should be, made when things aren't right. It's not always about "getting better games" as some folks seem to be fixated on as the only reason people are ever unhappy.

[egj13]

Originally Posted by The_Rookie

Did I read that correctly? 1st year officials (Rookies) are put on varsity games?? What's the punchline?

Your reaction is the same I had...

this is my first year in the state and pool and I thought I was hearing things but I swear to you its true...rookies on the varsity floor in their first game.

[TriggerMN]

What I want to know is why a player was wearing a white undershirt under a blue jersey in the game.

[pfan1981]

I don't really care about big games, but I wish I didn't have to drive two hours there, one hour during JV, 2 hour game with shower, and 2 hours home. It would be nice to get a somewhat big game here and there. Shouldn't they spread the wealth?

Hopefully after rubbing elbows with assignors more and "proving" yourself, then you could get more games closer to home.

[Lcubed48]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Happened here...many unhappy people, commissioner voted out, he starts rival organization, big-time split, good ole boy politics within the school system, etc, etc. So I work my public school games for an out-of-town board and private schools for my original board.

And BNR's new board (my only board) is better with the addition of him and others from his area.

PS - The bill is in the mail.

[johnny d]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Actually what is has done is stagnate the development of young officials here on the Peninsula. We don't have any new officials hungry to get better. I got into officiating at 37, I'm 49 now. I'm old. I got pick up on an NCAA roster in 2008 at 44. Since then only 2 guys from the Peninsula have been hired to NCAA-Mens staffs and both of them were in the process of moving up north the summers they were hired. A 49 year-old official shouldn't be the newest NCAA official in area with this much basketball going on year around.

You may only care about yourself, who knows. I like seeing young guys (and ladies) get better, get "big games", and get hired in college conferences. The environment of HS officiating where I live has killed officials passions for the game.


Because when those are the only games being played at the time, you are either working them or sitting at home.


You were the first person to bring up "so called big games". Seems to be on your mind more than anybody else's.

I think your original post starts with the cream doesn't rise to the top around here. One implication of that statement is that qualified officials are being excluded from perceived big games. You followed up with talking about holiday tournament games and playoff games. Not sure about what goes on in PA, but where I come from those games are also perceived to be big games.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by johnny d

I think your original post starts with the cream doesn't rise to the top around here. One implication of that statement is that qualified officials are being excluded from perceived big games. You followed up with talking about holiday tournament games and playoff games. Not sure about what goes on in PA, but where I come from those games are also perceived to be big games.

This is my exact quote:

Cream wasn't rising to the top around here. In these parts, the cream would go to camps and better themselves and get ridiculed by veterans for "trying to be college officials." The HS officiating situation is a joke where I live, that's why I travel up the road to work public school games.

Not my fault what you perceived. You brought up "big games" all by yourself. Holidays and post-season means there are only a certain number of games being played at that particular time. You travel 250 miles to work games, but you don't care to work post-season or in-season/holiday tournaments?

You went off on a tangent. You brought up people's schedules, not me. You totally ignored the bolded part of my original statement. You brought up all the different levels of college basketball you work and say you don't do it for the money. So what exactly do you do it for, if not for "big games" and not for "money"?

BTW, I live in VA, not PA. And if I chose to work for the association now doing public school games in my local vicinity, I would be doing all the "big games" my calendar would allow, and be home less than 30 minutes from the final horn. But I choose to drive 50-80 miles to get whatever I get. So your pyschological evaluation came up short in this case.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Lcubed48

And BNR's new board (my only board) is better with the addition of him and others from his area.

PS - The bill is in the mail.

I owe you a low carb pizza.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by DRJ1960

One of our members gave an impassioned speech against our board (I'm not on it) last night. He doesn't think his schedule is fair and made it abundantly clear that he has no respect for the board and told the evaluators "judge not that ye be not judged".

Please use your phone and video this next time. Pleaseeeeee....

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by DRJ1960

One of our members gave an impassioned speech against our board (I'm not on it) last night. He doesn't think his schedule is fair and made it abundantly clear that he has no respect for the board and told the evaluators "judge not that ye be not judged".

And what did he accomplish by doing that?

Peace

[DRJ1960]

I don't think he did himself a lot of good.... the room was deathly quiet and this group wouldn't quit commenting if the Pope was speaking....

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by DRJ1960

I don't think he did himself a lot of good.... the room was deathly quiet and this group wouldn't quit commenting if the Pope was speaking....

This happened in a similar situation in a meeting I attended probably 8 or 9 years ago. The assignor was handing out games by paper contract and a guy got up questioning assignments given and why he or others were not assigned games. I have not seen that guy since.

Peace

[BillyMac]

The best players, on the best teams, in the best games that night, deserve the best officials that are available that night.

Every once in a while it's nice to see a young official on his way up get a big game with a really strong veteran partner, but that shouldn't happen every night. It's also nice to see an "average" veteran official get a big game, probably with a strong partner, every once in a while but it, also, shouldn't happen every night.

I'm considered a dependable, veteran, "journeyman", varsity official, definitely not one of the top officials in my local board, and I get a few big games each season, usually with a really strong partner, and I'm happy with that. Somebody's got to work games with teams with losing records. I'm happy to do those games a few times a week. It's better than staying home and watching Two And A Half Men on the boob tube. We can't just cancel those pedestrian games.

From my pregame: "This game is the most important game being played anywhere tonight for these kids, fans, and coaches. Let’s make sure we officiate the game keeping that in mind, through effort, and attitude".

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[The_Rookie]

[QUOTE=Sharpshooternes;909968]Rookie, I am curious to find out what happens throughout the next few weeks/ season with your elections, association, and if any changes happen.

Those who were complaining the loudest were NOT elected to the Board...I am sure this will add fuel to the fire. I will report back on further developments

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by johnny d

If the coaches or athletic directors cared or thought they were not getting the best officials for their games they would hire a new association or assignment person for their games. Since that hasn't happened the schools must be satisfied with their work.

Wrong again. Just because that's the way it might be in Illinois doesn't mean that's the way it is everywhere. In many areas, schools have no choice who they have assigning or working their games. The state association makes that decision.

Furthermore, it makes absolutely no difference to me if the assignment person does a poor job of putting the right officials on the right games. I don't have any input in those decisions, so I am not responsible for the outcome. My only responsibility is to work the games I am assigned and choose to accept to the best of my ability and in the most professional manner I am capable of.

Whether you have any input in those situations or not, it reflects poorly on you if you're a member of that association. Like it or not.

Yeah that is exactly why I work, because the money I get for doing an NAIA, D2 or D3 game 250 miles from my house makes this avocation an extremely profitable endeavor. My point was people get way to worked up about who is working the so-called big games. Is there any tangible benefit to working those games? No, there isn't. As I pointed out in my original post, the pay is the exact same and if you care about how you represent yourself, then you are going to work whatever game you are on to the best of your ability. So the only thing left is the ability to say I worked the insert big name here vs. insert big name here game. At the end of the day, bragging about what games you worked because they are considered to be important games is just about ego.

If that's true, they why don't you work 6th grade games every night instead of working "NAIA, D2 or D3 game 250 miles" away from your house. I smell BS.

Exactly. It is unbelievable that you would be so worked up about something as insignificant as who is working the perceived big games rather than worrying about things you can control as an individual.

No, what was unbelievable was your smart@ss remark to an official you don't even know about what you perceive as his desires. Very condescending to say the least.