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‘I see/read a lot of complaints about too many whistles and perhaps there are too many whistles. But is this the fault of the referees? We must assume they are calling the game as they are told or taught to call it. So why so many whistles? Maybe it’s because today basketball is often “thugball.”
Consider that the players are playing as they have been coached to play. The successful coaches are such as Coach K are teaching hard-nosed defense. Coaches are telling their players to push the envelope, be as aggressive as you can be without getting called for a foul. Players are being called out for poor defense. It’s not just defense. I can’t recall the last screen I saw that wasn’t a moving screen.
The rules are confusing in many instances. It’s not okay to ‘go over the back, but it’s okay to use your bulk to move somebody out of the was as you “muscle up to the basket.” Clutching and grabbing is okay inside but not on the perimeter. Every dribble today would have been palming in my day.
The game itself is more “in your face” than ever before. Does a ref not call a foul on the other team because he’s called “too” many.?Not if that team is the home team or their coach is … well you know what I mean. In the paper today reference was made to a “technically correct but rarely called” inbounds play. WTF? Do we have many of these “technically correct but rarely called” violations? What’s a mother to do? When do you call rarely called “technically correct” violations?
Too many whistles? If the zebras called every foul they saw or every violation, we would have a 151, not 51, whistles.
And what is too many whistles – 30, 40? Obviously from the complaints 50 is too many. Wanna stop the whistles? Instead of the 10th foul getting 2 shots, let it be ruled a technical foul and the team get the ball and 2 shots. Then the players would be coached not to foul. Coaches who coach “thugball” and can’t coach basketball would find other forms of employment.
And Coach K would have retired an Army officer.
Largely agree that there are number of factors that dictate the number of calls per game. The subject is deserving of a thorough analysis, imo.
As you alluded to, I have a problem laying much of it at the players’ collective feet as they’re just doing what they’re told/coached to do (my personal suggestion is to avoid saying ‘thugball’ though – even though a ‘thug’ can be any race, unfortunately the PC crowd has made it so that the term is connotative of a certain race – sorry for the tangent). It’s also definitely not all on the refs – they have to make the calls that are in front of them. That said, in a one-off entity (a single contest) the refs can indeed ‘go sideways’ (so to speak) and cause a game to become a either a ‘whistle-fest’ or a ‘whistle-less’ trainwreck.
Speaking strictly from a fan perspective, I think a large issue (again, for fans) is the apparent subjectivity that games are called with – the overall seeming inconsistency from game-to-game or even call-to-call. Regardless of what various conference ‘heads of officiating’ suggest, there is plenty of video evidence out there suggesting that ref crews even within the same game are calling different interpretations of the rules (see the 2012 N.C. State vs. The Cheats ACC Tournament semi-final for a prime example – an abomination to even national college basketball commentators).
I believe +/- 98% of refs try their damnedest to call a fair game every time out with clear objectivity (I won’t go higher than 98% b/c I’m an N.C. State fan and my red-colored glasses suggest that human bias plays a larger part than it should at times for certain refs). Here is a major part of the problem the way I see it:
There is no organizational structure for college basketball refs.
– College basketball refs are independent and can contract out to work any game in any league on any night. Ok, fine – it should be called the same everywhere, correct? Yes. Part of the problem with this though is that refs can work any consecutive number of nights that they so choose – with unlimited travel time. I don’t care who you are, if you’re traveling every single day and working every single night then there is a high degree of probability that you’re not always going to be your sharpest.
– Another issue with this is that you are working with different crews every time out. Well, that should be ok because the rules are the same for everyone, everywhere – correct? Theoretically. The problem lies in consistency – or a lack thereof. Refs have a ‘gameplan’ just like players and coaches do. When you’re working with different crews every night out you ‘gameplan’ on who’s covering what and who will be where. But it also leads to shortcuts. When you work so many different contests across so many different leagues with so many different crews – that’s when ‘books’ and ‘tendencies’ come into play. “Hey, watch for this player doing this. Watch for this coach saying this.” You can’t possibly be everywhere on the floor at once, correct? Well, you ‘know’ that x player likes to hook his opponent to clear space in the post. You ‘know’ that x coach will do or say ‘this’ during the course of a game. You also ‘know’ that certain teams have the tendency to not commit any fouls (heh).
Sound like I’m full of sh*t? Well, ask Sean Miller about being singled-out and individually targeted for technical fouls in Pac-12 games. BeeJay Anya commits two fouls within the first three minutes of each of the last five contests – he’s really that stupid, foul-prone, and un-coached? Honestly? Ask the ACC head of officiating why The Cheats never commit team fouls.
– Regardless of pre-season meetings and get-togethers emphasizing ‘charge calls’ or ‘illegal screens’, independent refs are still human, and will still eventually revert back to their personal interpretations of the rules and how games should flow. If each individual ref has even the slightest different interpretation to that of another crew member, well you can see how that could be confusing at best for an impartial observer, and indeed infuriating for a team fan. This is why there needs to be an organizational top-down approach. One set of guidelines for the whole that hold sway for each league. One person or group at the top who govern the leagues below them (and no, individual league ‘heads of officiating’ do not fit this bill; the refs are still independent).
Do you see anywhere near the same amount of fan angst in football – college or pro? “Well that’s silly! There’s only one contest per week so it’s not apples-to-apples!” True, it’s a lot easier for an individual to prep for one event per week as opposed to multiple events over multiple nights at different venues. What’s different – at least for college – is that the crews are consistent from week to week, and there’s also a much more structural approach for college football.
Consider our own fanbase as an example. There’s a sentiment at-large (deservedly so, imo) that our collective fanbase is full of whiny ref-blamers. But does that sentiment hold true for both basketball and football? In my opinion, it does not. With respect to football, rarely is the case that I see fans blaming calls throughout a game as changing the tenor of the game or even changing the outcome. All of ‘angst’ seems to be focused on coaching decisions and the level of play on the field. In basketball, however, calls can and do have a tremendous impact on the game. It’s the nature of the beast. If there’s not a clear way in which games are going to be called from one game to the next – much less, one call to the next – then I’m hard pressed to blame fans in general for their furor.
Now consider the NFL. The refs in the NFL are organized, unionized, and held to one league standard. There is no fan uproar each and every week over a litany of inconsistent or unfair calls (pass interference, maybe, but typically you know that crews are going to err one way or the other – tight or loose). Fans know – and importantly – believe they are going to get a consistent and fair approach every time out. Fans get to rightly hone in on what really matters – their team’s performance. They don’t have to worry about some deluded half-wit who believes ‘he’ is the star of the show making incongruous calls or throwing fans out of the stadium on a personal whim. If a ref does do that, he’ll be out of a contract as opposed to just not being allowed to ref that team’s games again.
– Lastly, I get the idea that the NCAA wants it to be fair across every league and it should be called the same way regardless – and that’s why refs do work different leagues. I don’t think this is feasible anymore, however. There are too many teams, and there is too much travel – and there is way too much inconsistency. If you’re worried about compartmentalization and the Big East allowing physical play while the ACC emphasizes finesse then that’s all the more reason to have top-down organization. A head-person or group at the top who govern the individual leagues below them. Consistency amongst crews should be mandated; travel time and limits should be adhered too; minimum numbers of ‘off days’ should be standardized. In short, this needs to be cleaned up and organized in a major way.
Giving full autonomy to a loose collective of individuals and ‘suggesting’ guidelines for them has led us to this point. It doesn’t work, and it’s not going to start working. Say what you want about the level of play, the ability of players, and the styles of different coaches – but if there’s not one code to adhere by then you get the product that is served up today. K gets to work the refs and get BS flops called as charges. The Cheats never commit fouls. It’s all a load of rubbish. Hold everyone to the same standards – that includes refs.
It’s my opinion that organized structure from the NCAA down to each conference with clear guidelines and consistency among crews and travel times would alleviate some (a lot) of the ‘subjective’ look that games are seemingly called with.
Great post — just what I hoped would happen when I originated this thread. Perhaps when the Bowl selection calms down other folks will join in with their ideas and opinions.
my personal suggestion is to avoid saying ‘thugball’ though – even though a ‘thug’ can be any race, unfortunately the PC crowd has made it so that the term is connotative of a certain race
You are so right. I’m an old guy and I was thinking “thugs” like enforcers for organized crime. I have to laugh when I think about the PC crowd accusing someone else when it is they who are bringing race into it.
I looked and I can’t edit the post to take “thug” out. Maybe a mod will see this and turn my ‘edit’ on and I’ll fix it.
These guys do the best they can do. As you mention, they are traveling all over the place. Doing a big time ACC game one night then a DII game the next and on and on. They get verbally abused by coaches and fans alike. Yes, there is variation in how they call a game. But if you ask me that’s on the coaches and players to adjust. It is not an easy game to officiate.
Best post I have ever read on the issue pup.
Bravo.
I have grown to hate my favorite sport because of the refs
These guys do the best they can do. As you mention, they are traveling all over the place. Doing a big time ACC game one night then a DII game the next and on and on. They get verbally abused by coaches and fans alike. Yes, there is variation in how they call a game. But if you ask me that’s on the coaches and players to adjust. It is not an easy game to officiate.
Ie the players have to adjust but you have to have consistency to adjust. The calls are inconsistent but just drin game to game but half to half and team to team.
It is a big problem with the sportThere’s no argument from me that what wufpup has outlined makes all the sense in the world, perhaps too much for some people… but therein lies one of fundamental reasons that we probably won’t see any meaningful change.
This makes sense, sounds the same but not the same as ‘cents’ as in ‘dollars’ and ‘cents’… Economically speaking…there’s no visible incentive for anybody to do anything, so the ‘problem’ does not exist, at least not in their minds. Without economic incentives to change, we are left to use ‘moral’ persuasion and a political process with institutions who clearly have no ‘morality’.
So if we must consider the ‘politics’ alone … consider this…
Collegiate Sports are historically parochial in nature, especially at the conference level. And success with this plan hinges on two things…. Conferences giving up ‘power and control’ and the NCAA taking ‘power and control’.
In general, the Conferences don’t want to give and the NCAA doesn’t want to take. Mens basketball is about ten years or more behind the curve ( led by football ) so that doesn’t help the cause either, since football is leading the trend in the opposite direction… that is… the NCAA ceding power / control to the conferences, not the other way round.
Before the marathon campaign is started, we probably shouldn’t forget … we’ve been ‘arguing’ about ‘States Rights’ and ‘Federalization’ in this country since 1776. I can hear Swoffy, Delaney, et.al. now… “If we give the NCAA one thing, it will just encourage them to ask for some thing else, and some thing else and some thing else and pretty soon … they won’t need us anymore and we’ll be out of a job…” … which is the same old justification we heard for a hundred other ‘lost causes’.
Then, as we all know, there’s a whole other crowd of folks who don’t want the NCAA to do anything but go out of business.
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On the other side of the ball, so to speak, there’s the referees themselves. I’ve had the occasion to met and get to know several guys who officiated college sports most of their lives although none of their names would anybody recognize.
And that’s because that’s who they are… Guys you wouldn’t recognize with real day jobs, who love the sport and do the job not for the money or prestige but just because they love the sport.
They all say the make some good calls and some bad calls, and I never met one who didn’t have games/coaches/schools that he liked to work and some that they didn’t. Privately, they’ll tell you in a minute… I gotta go down to xxxx (school) and work a game and their coach is a xxxxxx, so it ain’t going to be fun or pretty.
So if it were possible to organize and ‘structure’ all this… I just wonder what happens to the regular guys who do the hard work. And if they are ‘replaced’ by ‘professionals’ then what does that really mean.
At the end of the day, it’s a conundrum of sorts (to use a big word that means “f’d up mess” )…
…Amateur referees officiating semi-pro athletes…. both under contract to powerful, economic-based institutions who have no morality and who, politically, are polar opposites.
Good luck with that… You GOTT my number… Call me if you need me…
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Personally, I would be happier and Coach would too… if Dr.Debbie would just take care of business and “pay our refs” a little more… and be a little more forceful with the Conference about not sending some guys to our gym… just like in the old days…
I mean, you something like, turning the hot water off in the showers the next time Jamie Luckie has to work the PNC… or towing his car during the game or something funny…
And fwiw… after that football game over in Chapel Hill the other Saturday… you know… the one where we kicked Carolina’s A$$ up and down the field all afternoon… you know… the game that was SO BAD, there was NO WHINING from the HOLES afterwards about officiating or anything else.. yeah that game… the one ALL THE HOLES went silent on…
I’m starting to think Ron Cherry is a really funny dude…
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!You are officially part of the Politburo, wufpup76. I have been meaning to ask ya, but then again Stalin needs no permission to act in best interest of the Proletariat and the Revolution!
Basketball has always seemed to lead to more complaints about officiating. Especially the ACC with the history of flamboyant officials all the way back to the beginning of the conference. Yes often I do see what seems to be inconsistencies (often within a game and pointed at particular players or maybe the ‘special of the game’ infraction). So yes there is some of that and there always has been in the ACC.
I also think coaches teach players to take advantage of all they can (of course they do) and some players are better able than others to play that game. Len Elmore had a good point when calling the last game about bigs getting ‘lazy’ when tired and also about using hips rather than hands when battling with their opponents. Then there is the fan aspect – we want a free flowing game without play stoppages but always call all the fouls committed against the players of our team.
Like Bill I don’t expect any real change as that would mean some group giving up power and/or money.
Economically speaking…there’s no visible incentive for anybody to do anything, so the ‘problem’ does not exist, at least not in their minds. Without economic incentives to change, we are left to use ‘moral’ persuasion and a political process with institutions who clearly have no ‘morality’.
^That’s typically the crux of, well, everything! 😉
And thanks for the kind words, everyone – happy to help generate discussion on this. I love college basketball, so I am passionate about a topic such as this … I don’t *think* we’ll ever see it, but if we ever had an era/decade like the ’80’s again – well that would be nirvana for me. There’s always hope, I guess.
You are officially part of the Politburo, wufpup76. I have been meaning to ask ya, but then again Stalin needs no permission to act in best interest of the Proletariat and the Revolution!
My heart sings with pride, Commandant!
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