Block/charge and game situation

[Sharpshooternes]

Was lead in transition on a fast break, one defender (a1) in front of the ball handler (B1), I am maybe 15 feet from the play with good angle and can see space between them. Defender is running backwards and slows. Ball handler lowers shoulder and pretty much runs A1 over. Never went air borne for the shot. I come up with an easy peasy lemon squeasy PC. I hear it from the crowd. Small crowd in large gym and one dude is just hollering "read a rule book" for like a minute after the play, which was pretty comical. Any way team A was up about twenty points and this was in the third quarter. My play was similar to the St. Mary's/BYU play in another thread.

After the game, one of our other officials whom I respect and think is an excellent official and works many state playoff games every year, asked me about the play. I told him what I had and he said "you should have called a block. Calling a charge on the team who is down isn't the best game management move. Show the coach a little love."

Now I am all for letting some stuff go on a time who is down 20 so as not to rub salt in a wound, minor travels, a minor hand check away from the basket etc. but this was a PC foul all day every day. I wouldn't have even dared to no call it because B1 lowered his shoulder and A1 went down.

I asked him "take score out of the equation. What if it is tied or A is ahead?" He said, "Charge." Anybody have any comments or thoughts on this philosophy?

Call the obvious. If it's obviously a charge, call the charge. If there's any doubt, call a block.

Perhaps in your situation make the winning team carry more burden of proof when it comes to fouls and violations.

[JetMetFan]

It's a dumb philosophy. He's going to adhere to that one of these days on a play like that and end up with a fight on his hands because the kid who gets RTFO won't like it very much.

I can see letting a "baby travel" go against the team catching the beat down but I can't see anything positive coming from knowingly calling a foul incorrectly.

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by Sharpshooternes

Was lead in transition on a fast break, one defender (a1) in front of the ball handler (B1), I am maybe 15 feet from the play with good angle and can see space between them. Defender is running backwards and slows. Ball handler lowers shoulder and pretty much runs A1 over. Never went air borne for the shot. I come up with an easy peasy lemon squeasy PC. I hear it from the crowd. Small crowd in large gym and one dude is just hollering "read a rule book" for like a minute after the play, which was pretty comical. Any way team A was up about twenty points and this was in the third quarter. My play was similar to the St. Mary's/BYU play in another thread.

After the game, one of our other officials whom I respect and think is an excellent official and works many state playoff games every year, asked me about the play. I told him what I had and he said "you should have called a block. Calling a charge on the team who is down isn't the best game management move. Show the coach a little love."

Now I am all for letting some stuff go on a time who is down 20 so as not to rub salt in a wound, minor travels, a minor hand check away from the basket etc. but this was a PC foul all day every day. I wouldn't have even dared to no call it because B1 lowered his shoulder and A1 went down.

I asked him "take score out of the equation. What if it is tied or A is ahead?" He said, "Charge." Anybody have any comments or thoughts on this philosophy?

I think that you need to pick other officials to consider excellent. Someone who advocates officiating in that manner wouldn't have my respect or support for State Tournament games. I have to wonder if you are in a state in which the coaches select or help select the postseason/State tourney officials.

What action is he going to take when either the kid or coach tells him that such a decision was an awful call? Even he knows it was incorrect.

[JRutledge]

I try to call each play as it happens regardless of score and situation. The only thing I try to do on foul calls are if the contact affects the shot and try to be a little more slower on the whistle in those situations. But I do that every situation or I try to no matter what the game situation is at the time. But on a block-charge, I call those plays individually. And I try not to penalize defenders for slight movements or just default to a block just because they were in the way like it appears a lot of officials do.

Peace

[Rich]

OP, film don't lie. When the defensive coach clips that one play and sends it to your assignor / supervisor / state, good luck explaining away the call.

[MD Longhorn]

I echo Nevada's sentiments... if that's this guy's philosophy, he's not "excellent". There are things you call slightly differently (borderline travels for example, ticky-tack fouls) in a blowout. But an offensive player bowling over a defender is not one of them.

[Welpe]

There's game management and then there's game manipulation. His philosophy falls into the latter category. There are many who will advocate that approach but I personally hate it.

[Bad Zebra]

Originally Posted by Sharpshooternes

After the game, one of our other officials whom I respect...I told him what I had and he said "you should have called a block. Calling a charge on the team who is down isn't the best game management move. Show the coach a little love."...

I asked him "take score out of the equation. What if it is tied or A is ahead?" He said, "Charge." Anybody have any comments or thoughts on this philosophy?

"Dumb" is the word that comes to mind. Reversing an obvious call based on the score? Gotta wonder how that philosophy has allowed this guy to get to post season with any degree of frequency. I wouldn't call it "game management". I'd call it poor officiating.

[Adam]

If it's 50/50, I might lean towards the team trailing (the expectation). Otherwise, no way I'm penalizing a kid for getting steamrolled when he did nothing illegal.

If I'm approached by a "senior" official afterwards and he suggests otherwise, I'll just nod in agreement and throw it into my mental trash can.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by Sharpshooternes

Was lead in transition on a fast break, one defender (a1) in front of the ball handler (B1), I am maybe 15 feet from the play with good angle and can see space between them. Defender is running backwards and slows. Ball handler lowers shoulder and pretty much runs A1 over. Never went air borne for the shot. I come up with an easy peasy lemon squeasy PC. I hear it from the crowd. Small crowd in large gym and one dude is just hollering "read a rule book" for like a minute after the play, which was pretty comical. Any way team A was up about twenty points and this was in the third quarter. My play was similar to the St. Mary's/BYU play in another thread.

After the game, one of our other officials whom I respect and think is an excellent official and works many state playoff games every year, asked me about the play. I told him what I had and he said "you should have called a block. Calling a charge on the team who is down isn't the best game management move. Show the coach a little love."

Now I am all for letting some stuff go on a time who is down 20 so as not to rub salt in a wound, minor travels, a minor hand check away from the basket etc. but this was a PC foul all day every day. I wouldn't have even dared to no call it because B1 lowered his shoulder and A1 went down.

I asked him "take score out of the equation. What if it is tied or A is ahead?" He said, "Charge." Anybody have any comments or thoughts on this philosophy?

Suggest he not join this forum, because we'd convert him pdq.

Your call was correct as it happened, 100%.

Don't compromise on the fundamental calls.

[ballgame99]

And penalize a kid for playing great defense? Not a chance. As much as I hate the expression, ball don't lie.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Rich

OP, film don't lie. When the defensive coach clips that one play and sends it to your assignor / supervisor / state, good luck explaining away the call.

I know I'm quoting myself, but I learned this lesson in football. I work college football and coaches are NOTORIOUS there for clipping plays and sending them along. They only clip the ones they don't like and there's absolutely no context from play to play.

It could be a 50 point game, but if you (deliberately or otherwise) tank a call (whether it be a block/charge in hoops or an *obvious* DPI in football) you'll not score any points. Doesn't matter if it goes against the winning or losing teams, either.

Save that mentality for the true 50/50 calls.

[zm1283]

Had a less experienced partner working with us in the first game of our JV/V doubleheader last night. He calls a three second violation against the visitors in the 4th quarter when they're down 40+. We get in the locker room and discuss time and score and how letting that slide might be better for game management. No one from the visitors said anything, but there are coaches who would.

On the other hand, in the same game at the very end I had a visiting player slide underneath an airborne shooter before he had a chance to land, putting both of them on the floor. Easy block call even though they're down 40. I'm not really good enough on fouls to purposely call them for the losing team, but I can choose not to call a three second violation on them and no one is the wiser.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Rich

I know I'm quoting myself, but I learned this lesson in football. I work college football and coaches are NOTORIOUS there for clipping plays and sending them along. They only clip the ones they don't like and there's absolutely no context from play to play.

It could be a 50 point game, but if you (deliberately or otherwise) tank a call (whether it be a block/charge in hoops or an *obvious* DPI in football) you'll not score any points. Doesn't matter if it goes against the winning or losing teams, either.

Save that mentality for the true 50/50 calls.

Totally agree. We are in the video age. Maybe that worked 20 years ago before YouTube and Facebook and Instagram took hold our the awareness of our society. We have to be very careful of what we do as officials. And all it takes is one play to be sent on for review and we are in trouble. Just look at what happened in the ASU-UA game last Friday. Those officials were told they were wrong and that could have changed the outcome if they simply did their job.

About 8-10 years ago I worked with an official that wanted me to not call a foul on the losing team player that was about to foul out, because he believed in this "kill them with kindness" crap. I called a foul where the player that fouled him was the only one around the ball handler that was fouled. Then he wanted me to change my foul call to a player that was 10 feet away from the play. I refused and if they were taping the game (and they were) it would have shown me to be totally incompetent and not foul the right player. We have to be very careful with trying to help out the losing team even when we do not want to ruffle feathers.

Peace