thoughts on basketball refferees

[wyzgy]

i don't know about you guys, but i played a little ball, yeah, just after they cut the hole out of the peach basket, but has it got so physical that it's almost getting out of control?  i mean, the trickle down from the nba to college to high school has been amazing.  the amount of contact allowed.  i used to think the line is drawn when a shooter has his shot affected by physical contact, that it was a foul.  or the amount of palming, traveling, 3 seconds, contact under the basket, ..... and all this after they added a ref to include 3 to keep a better eye on the game.  just wondering where this is all going.  then you have the playoffs or tournaments and the intensity/contact really goes up.  the ball players are looking more and more like footballers or boxers.  it just makes it hard to watch sometimes

[6746jonesr]

The biggest change in basketball is the athleticism of the players, which has increased the pace of the game.  Frankly, many referees can't keep up with the pace, not so much from a physical standpoint, but from a mental one.  Decisions have to be made in a split second, and it is sxtremely difficult to be mentally sharp for 40 minutes.  I have done my share of officiating various sports over the years, and basketball, to me, has always been the most challenging, which is one of the reasons I no longer do this sport.  As a fan or a player, I really don't care whether the game is called closely, or the refs let the players play.  What I would like to see from officials is consistency, and I think that has become a very big problem.  Notice how games seem to be called differently in the first half versus the second half.  I know that teams make adjustments that affect the flow of the game, but I always wonder about the conversation that officials have during halftime, and whether or not there is a concerted effort on their part to change things up in the second half.  Oh well, officials are a part of the game, and players have always had to adapt their games to the way in which the game is being called.

[Dawson Rental]

The biggest change in basketball is the athleticism of the players, which has increased the pace of the game.  Frankly, many referees can't keep up with the pace, not so much from a physical standpoint, but from a mental one.  Decisions have to be made in a split second, and it is sxtremely difficult to be mentally sharp for 40 minutes.  I have done my share of officiating various sports over the years, and basketball, to me, has always been the most challenging, which is one of the reasons I no longer do this sport.  As a fan or a player, I really don't care whether the game is called closely, or the refs let the players play.  What I would like to see from officials is consistency, and I think that has become a very big problem.  Notice how games seem to be called differently in the first half versus the second half.  I know that teams make adjustments that affect the flow of the game, but I always wonder about the conversation that officials have during halftime, and whether or not there is a concerted effort on their part to change things up in the second half.  Oh well, officials are a part of the game, and players have always had to adapt their games to the way in which the game is being called.

Great insight from someone used to being in those shoes.  Thanks.

[bamamarquettefan]

I'm in the minority who really believe refs call the games well.  

You can't keep enforcing rules like "both feet flat on the ground for a charge" when the players are so fast and strong, so it evolves to "ge there first and be straight up." and it leads to incredible plays like Jae's charge drawn against Murray State.

As high as the players get up and as strong as they are, when a player blocks the ball first then makes contact with the body, it's no longer a foul.

I really like the game how it is played now, because I believe effort and training is rewarded now rather than a hot streak hitting jump shots.

Maybe that's because I don't have a good jump shot so I've always willed myself to the rim during my glorious YMCA career.

I am like 6746jonesr, once i refereed a little basketball I realized it was much harder to call than any other sport, and i have not ripped on refs nearly as often since then.  Home team seems to get 6 or 7 calls a game, visitors get 2 or 3,and the fans complain about 50 calls because they don't understand the changes in the rules.

The ref didn't catch Lebron hitting Duran'ts arms on the way up at the end of Game 2, but they also missed the charge on Durant with 3:29 left that should have been his 6th foul.  I don't have a problem with either, swallowing the whistle rather than taking a chance on missing the call the other way.  I look at a missed call the same way I look at a tough roll off the rim - play through it.

[wyzgy]

thanks jonessr!  that's the type of response i was looking for.  building on your response, i always wondered if when team A starts getting ahead in the team fouls, it seems team B always catches up, especially the first halves.  seen it many times in MU games. also fouls that weren't really fouls early in the game become fouls later.  and the infamous phantom hack on a player going in for the layup turning it into a 3 point play.  yes i understand it's fast paced, but compared to the hack on a shot in the middle of the lane. 

[MU82]

I, too, have reffed, and still do high school and middle-school levels now. Basketball is an extremely difficult game to call, and the coaches don't help by protesting and begging and complaining and oh-my-Godding pretty much every single play.

As a fan, my biggest pet peeve is the moving screen. The big guys move almost every time they set a pick, and it isn't even subtle. Standing out there at the top of the key or FT-line-extended, they stick out their butts, jut out their legs and sometimes even hook defenders with their arms -- anything to keep defenders from staying with their men. And refs, both in college and pros, keep letting them get away with it.

Duncan and Garnett were the biggest offenders in the playoffs. I'm not sure I saw either set a legal screen by definition. I found myself actually feeling bad for Garnett the one time he got called late in that one game -- not because he didn't set a moving screen, because he obviously did, but because why then to make the call after he had been allowed to do it all game?

Many observers say the crackdown on handchecking in the NBA has changed the game, but I think the total disregard of blatant moving screens -- especially considering that almost every team plays the screen/roll game now -- has changed it even more.

It would be relatively easy to clean up by simply calling it because it's almost always obvious, but the NBA doesn't seem to want to.

There. I'm off my soapbox.