Are you kidding me? High School gyms are full of them, and worse. My wife has come to a few out of town tournaments. I do a few games and we enjoy a local eatery. She can't believe I can stand the idiocy in the stands. I am sure as I, many of you don't hear it anymore (Exception: on time out someone says something clever). This week student section would start singing a nursery rhythm every time the opposing team had the ball. At one time-out they ask me what my favorite was, so I replied "itsy bitsy spider". Next possession we were treated to a resounding rendition. Jay Bilas is probably one of the smartest people on TV, and Dick Vital is a great ambassador for college basketball. However, when it comes to commentary on officiating I can’t stomach either of them. Well, it’s hard to stomach Vital as soon as he starts talking.

Guys I'm a nube to officiating, and may be off base here or overthinking the eleventy bjillion rules I'm trying to get familiar with. But I've watched this video several times and I'm not agreeing with the bad call....

It seems to me the defensive player has a right to his vertical plane going for the rebound, and he established his position (and his plane) before Thompson goes for the tip-in. Thompson comes into that plane for the tip, making him an airborne shooter. Thompson's action causes obvious contact with his left side and left arm, giving a disadvantage to the rebounder and an advantage to the airborne shooter.

So why wouldn't this be considered a player control foul against Thompson?

Thanks for any response. Just trying to learn here.

Rich

Welcome Nube.

In order for it to be a player control foul, player control is needed. In this instance,there is none. IF there was a foul ( I'm not seeing it, no real displacement or disadvantage) in this case it would likely be a push as the foul happened before the offensive player gathered and gained control.

Thanks Constable.

What I saw was a good deal of contact with Thompson's left arm and left side against the defender/rebounder while both were airborne during/immediately after the put back. It appears to be sufficient to move the defender's head and displace him. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong. But I get what you are saying regarding the player control part. I mistakenly thought that the airborne shooter was considered to be in control during a put back.

Rich

You're right. In this case, all the contact is made after the ball is caught on the rebound. Thus, if a foul is called, it is a PC foul.

That said, contact is generally considered incidental (and not a foul) if it doesn't hinder the opponent from doing what he's trying to do. In this case, I don't see the defender doing much. This is what happens when you wait for the ball. The displacement is minimal, and at this level rarely gets called.

I think this is a missed call, but I'm not even sure I'd classify it as a bad miss for the reasons you wrote here.

Player control is defined as a player "holding or dribbling the ball"
Easy one, put it in your bag of tricks, but near the top as so many things we are called on to judge are predicated on player control. Same for team control. Know when it starts and what circumstances cause it to end.
Memorize the 20 Rules fundamentals found on page 70 something!

I don't quite understand this response. I havent seen anyone suggest Wymer is a terrible official but why shouldn't we critique/try to learn from his bad calls like anyone else's. Him working championship games does not take away from this being a huge miss.

Some of the feedback I get from coaches I know is that they feel too many refs act/feel like they are above criticism. Now I take this with a grain of salt considering the source and think its misguided but responses like this give some validity to that sentiment IMO. I think its an overly defensive position to take.

And speaking of what is likely an unpopular opinion on this forum, I actually like Bilas. I don't agree with everything he says, particularly on officiating, but I think he is one of the more thoughtful sports analysts out there and do agree with a lot of what he says.

Hyperbole aside, this is a pretty bad miss. Can happen to the best of us but doesn't negate that this was a whistle that he likely wishes he had back and can be a lesson on positioning and angles on rebounding action.

For me, that's the biggest takeaway in all of this. What's one of the biggest reasons we miss calls? Poor positioning. And I think the C's positioning on this play wasn't the best. Center has bailed out too early and failed to close down.

He worked the UK/Wisconsin semifinal not the championship.