Frontcourt Corner Coverage
 

This happened in a game from the same Nike tournament BNR referenced in his thread:

Team A is in their frontcourt set. Double team pressure by the defense on the wing forces A1 to pass it to A2 in the corner.

I'm the lead out wide near A2. A2 puts up a three...B2, while A2 is still in the air, hits A2 on the arm, and the contact is more than incidental/marginal. I wait half a beat for the trail's whistle...then come in with the foul.

I had one college official (NCAA-M), who was one of the partners for the game, says that's a call you have to get...even from the lead. Also had some feedback, from some other officials, that asked, if I'm looking out there, who's looking at the post/rebound action.

What say you? What are your thoughts on the lead coming in on a foul on these types of plays?

Obviously, the play above is for NFHS/NCAA-M mechanics.

I don't think it is an either/or choice. Being aware of what is/was going on in the paint, you can make the choice to help on that shot or not. If there is heavy post action, you may not be able to look. But, if the post is quiet, why not? You're less than 10 feet from the shot, may have the best and clearest view. In fact, the NCAA-W and NBA want the lead to cover that, probably for those very reasons.

At all levels, mechanics are guidelines, not rules. They are intended to help us, as a crew, judge the game and apply the rules correctly. If we do the mechanics right but still miss the call, have we actually done anything right? Sometimes, the play dictates that we step outside of the lines to cover the play.

Reminds me of the UConn game in January where Kevin Ollie was tossed. Exact same situation it seems.

If you are working wide because you are moving with the ball, then get the foul. If you have to turn your shoulders, then let it go for the Trail.
I had that play many years ago. I waited for the Trail to whistle the illegal contact. He waited until the shot was missed before he called a foul.:eek: I have heard of a patient whistle. but....

This is specifically one of the "things to work on" this summer at camp in a memo passed down from John Adams to and through college supervisors...


*Shots taken in corners

Lead widens and opens to assist trail on shots taken in the corners. Make sure the shot attempt is clean then release to the post.

Depends on how your partners feel about you calling in their primary.

A big time official told me and others at his camp, "Who are they going to yell at if you do not get the foul?"

I tend to agree with him and on a very rare occasion, I get this call. Again rare, but if it is enough contact to get the foul, then get the foul.

Peace

it should depend on what's best for the game, not your partners' personal feelings.

It should, but we both know that doesn't always happen.

Whenever I see someone post or say something about "who's watching your primary if you're looking there" or something similar, it lets me know exactly what kind of official that person is -- someone who doesn't care if the crew suffers as long as that person can say he had his primary covered.

Not Either/Or; Perhaps Both/And?
 

The difference being one official who is an avid ballwatcher who's all over that shot from the corner while elbows are flying unabated underneath and the better official who maintains his primary surveillance but also maintains situational awareness and isn't fixated so much on his PCA that he's unaware of the wider view should something need to be called for the sake of the crew and the game. I think.

Some folks do not understand the concept of Secondary Coverage Area.

The lead should work wide to mirror the ball. When they are wide with the ball they can have a peripheral view of both the shot taken in the corner and their primary coverage area (the lane/post). Thus allowing the effective coverage of the play from the trail's perspective and the lead's secondary coverage area to provide a correct secondary cadence whistle from the lead.

Working with NCAA-W Lead Officials
 

I found this to be superbly and succinctly stated.

Interesting condition sometimes occurs later in games with me at T and the L being an official who works NCAA-W. Though we pregame the NFHS mechanic, it seems they, after a half or so, revert to L taking observation of that shot. Really very simple compensation step -- T widens his view to briefly observe what's going on low in the paint as L's attention centers on the defender going up for the block. The good NCAA-W officials seem to shift readily back down low after things are over with the shot and they cover their area without watching the flight of the ball. That's how it seems anyway. Not sure if it's all according to Hoyle, but that's how it feels like it works out, and all bases are covered.
Now, if I could just get them to resist reporting foul numbers two-handed. The good ones don't. The indifferent ones, or the ones who make an effort to big-time the other officials don't care and do it anyway. :mad:

Or maybe they just forget every now and then...