Rndballref
20 Years Experience
Chicago, IL
Male, 60
For twenty years I officiated high school, AAU and park district basketball games, retiring recently. For a few officiating is the focus of their occupation, while for most working as an umpire or basketball referee is an avocation. I started ref'ing to earn beer money during college, but it became a great way to stay connected to the best sports game in the universe. As a spinoff, I wrote a sports-thriller novel loosely based on my referee experiences titled, Advantage Disadvantage
Like most things in life it is not difficult to be a referee. However, it is very hard to be a good referee. Here are some of the reasons: 1) You need to study the rule book - it takes a long time to really understand and internalize them, 2) once the rules are understood it takes a long time to decide which rules should not be enforced at which levels/situations, 3) since there is a learning curve, you have to make a big commitment to it before you can be well compensated, 4) even if you develop into a good referee, you have to be lucky enough to be "discovered" and/or mentored by people in a position to help and promote you, and finally you have to have a different occupation that allows you spend your time investing in ref'ing. Oh yeah, you also need thick skin.
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In Illinois, in each championship weekend (2 for boys & 2 for girls) there are 6 officials. Each official works 2 games, but if one were injured they could press one from the other crew into action. In addition, the tournament usually attracts several high level officials as spectators so there are plenty in reserve. Every state does this differently.
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The coach can argue mixup all he wants, but it shouldn't matter. Awarding an unearned free throw is correctible, but all points and fouls earned before the error is detected count. In this case, an extra free throw was not awarded - the referees simply misled the lane rebounders, and that is NOT correctible. So, argue til you are blue in the face, and call it lousy officiating, but the play and points by rule stand.
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No, it is absolutely not ok. A ref must be above reproach, and when there are lingering bad feelings a good ref will put the history behind them. So first, if a ref swallows the whistle - in rec leagues it is common so the games end quicker - then report the ref to the league's assignment chair. Not calling obvious fouls almost always leads to rough play as the players feel compelled to protect themselves. 2nd, a ref should be fired for starting the game with an unearned T.
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Other than technical fouls, there are no free throws awarded when a team with possession of the ball commits a foul.
If it is in the possession of the player committing the foul, then it is a player control foul (NO free throws). If a player's team has possession and a foul is committed by a player on that team without the ball it is a team control foul (and again, NO free throws).
A team or player control foul is never awarded free throws, and it makes no difference if the team is in bonus.
Also, you might be asking if a charge is the only player control foul possible? The answer is no. A player with the ball might push, trip, hold, etc a defensive player and an offensive player without the ball might set an illegal screen, push, hold, etc in addition to charging. All of this is relative to NFHS rules.
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Let's suppose that a player takes two hands on top of the ball and pushes it to the ground - double dribble. You see this sometimes when a player falls and use the ball to break the fall. What if a player takes one hand and pushes the ball to the floor ? That is an interrupted dribble until the player picks it up, or can continue the dribble with one hand (like the Globetrotters). If instead, he picks up the ball, he has used up the dribble and must pass or shoot from there.
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There is no provision in the rules for an official to overrule another, and there is no prohibition against it. One of the officials is designated as the referee, the others are umpire 1 and umpire 2. The referee has to settle all disputes not envisioned by the rule book. As I have said before, I always wanted my partners to approach me if they disagreed with my call and allow me to change my own call if my partner created doubt or if they clarified the play for me. But I always wanted the right to not change my call as well. By the original caller changing his call he can explain it to the coach adversely affected. Good referees have this discussion before the game and talk about how they are going to handle a disagreement on a call. Generally, this should not happen too often because each referee has a specific area to watch and while there is some overlap calls usually fall within one ref's primary responsibility area.
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