Jan 27th Games

Above post is very disappointing    

BG beat Alvirne 77 to 39

All right the technical in the Central - Mack game.

There was about a minute or so left and Central was up by about 5. Tyler Kelley was fouled. Mack was in the putting Central at the FT line mode for a bit. Kelley I think makes his first FT. Subs are coming in. Mack's Gasper is on the hash mark nearest to Kelley's right side. Gasper is saying things and the trail ref is having a convo with him and comes in to say something to Gasper. The ref moves back to his trail position. I guess Kelley says something and the next thing you know the lead official, who was going to administer the 2nd FT to Kelley gives Kelley a technical foul.

Think about that. A player getting ready to shoot his 2nd FT of a double bonus FT picks up a technical while at the FT line......

................. I've never seen that one before.

There's more. The technical counts as a personal foul towards Kelley and it's his 5th FOUL !!!! He has to come out of the game. He can't shoot his 2nd FT. Doc gets to pick anyone on the Central bench to replace Kelley, just like in any situation when someone fouls out. Doc picks Dickson. The lane is cleared. All the players are at center court while Dickson takes the 2nd FT and misses it.

Franzen hits the 2 technical FTs and Mack gets the ball back at division line. I think Gasper hit a 15 footer and Mack is now within 2.

Unbelievable. You don't see this too often.

All righty then...... Here's your POY story:

I'm thinking this Mack - Central game is not only a battle for #1, but it's a battle for POY between Gendron and Hanson. They played each other mano a mano all game. Great matchup. I think Hanson had about 21 and Gendron 15 and fouled out with 4 minutes to go. So, I ask Jeremy, "What do you think of POY?" Jeremy says it's still up in the air. Hanson plays with a better supporting cast than Gendron. He says if Central finishes first and Mack finishes like 3rd or 4th he might lean towards Gendron. I say if Central finishes first and Hanson is #1 or #2 scorer on Central I might give it to Hanson.......

................Then I talk to Pete after the game and run the scenario by him. Pete immediately says my vote right now goes to Jon Martin of Central....... Wow !!!!



In other words: Let the POY for D1 boy's argument begin !!!!

I saw Kelly get fouled by Mack's #15 Richardson.  As the teams were heading down to the Central end, Kelly was throwing some dialogue Richardson's way.  Looked like Gasper and Kelly exchanged pleasantries shortly thereafter. As Kelly stepped to the line, Greenie. the official joined in the conversation.  (Players have told me he is always talking to them off the ball about being cool and in control.) Kelly's first free throw went high off the rim and went in.  I looked away at this point but someone in the stands told me Kelly blew a kiss in Gasper's direction.  BJ T-ed him up.  Very strange.  Very funny.   Great HS basketball contest.

BG 77-39?? Is that a typo?

Yea it didn't seem like Kelley and Gasper were making plans to get together this weekend and have fun   

Bert54the1 Today at 22:10
BG 77-39?? Is that a typo?


Some one texted me that score 1 hour ago. Hoping it wasn't after 4 drinks at the Jade.
.

I was at the Alvirne/BG game. The final score is indeed correct. BG got the lead and never lost it.

Central - Mack article in UL:

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20140127/SPORTS21/140129315

BG - Alvirne was close in the first half - BG kept a 4-6 point cushion, but free throws kept Alvirne in the game. Even though BG was going to hole, they "A" couldn't buy a bunny and "B" weren't getting fouled. Down on the other end it was a different story and Alvirne hit their FT's. The half time lead was 10 I believe. BG then poured in 48 in the second half. I think it was 24-5 third period.

I would say the intensity from the BG players was ratcheted up about 200 percent after half. Feeding Joe Marendola at the top of the key for a few quick turnaround soft jumpers and defensively they just consumed Alvirne. I would say depth and "game speed" were a huge difference.

With a few minutes left in the 3rd, there was some "after the whistle action" at the free throw line opposite where I was standing. The end result was Boykin getting ejected and Tyler Brown receiving a T (that's how it was announced). An Alvirne player took 2 FT's. I'm really not quite sure how things were adjudicated. Although Brown never got back on the floor, it wasn't because he was ejected (because if he was, then the FT's wouldn't have been taken as a dual ejection for fighting would cancel out). From where I stood it looked like both should probably be gone, but the hook for CJ was quick. The discussion by the officials after the incident and then the conversation with the coaches lasted a few minutes with Jimmy getting quite animated with the results. I had another parent say to me afterwards they thought Brown may have taken a (unlanded) swing. I think at that point if anything it was frustration boiling over for Alvirne as a manageable halftime deficit turned into a blowout.

JAF - I heard there was a lot going on during the altercation in the BG - Alvirne game. Some say this was missed with regards to near swings or pushes that might have lead to escalation. Well, there was a lot going on in the Mack - Central game with regards to talking, pushing etc. Some might hint these 2 games were examples of where a 3 man crew were needed. Good in theory, but as you know JAF, with the condensed 13/14 schedule and rescheduling's there is a scheduling issue for referees also. Can you imagine trying to schedule 3 man crews to do some/all of the D1 games? Then if 3 man crews were scheduled for D1 then D2 and D3 would say what about us? It would be impossible. Everything can't be seen on the court with 10 players and 2 refs.

Bottom line is players have to control their emotions and words on the court. Those who don't suffer the consequences...... FT shooter for Central and point guard for BG. Sometimes, it can effect a game....... Or a season.

I agree 100% about players needing to control their emotions. I also feel the coaches need to be part of the solution.

Part of me thinks the "move" to have more M/W games is a way to gauge availability for 3-man crews. Although one AD said to me that in a former job a move to 3-man was couched as a way of getting newer officials working with a 2 veterans; however, when push came to shove 3 veterans were commonly assigned with an emphasis on veteran.   I think 3 man would slow down the escalations, but in the end I think they're going to happen because things escalate too quickly. Whether it's carry over trash talk, frustration from the other team playing harder and wanting it more thus getting a larger lead, or a team coming back from a large deficit. We don't know what's said in the huddles or halftime, but I've heard my share of "you're not getting the calls tonight", "don't expect that call in this gym", and "this guy doesn't like us" - so players are certainly being fed that the officials are against them, so they decide to take matters into their own hands. In the end, I think the IAABO POE's regarding calling things is spot on. Fans, parents, coaches, and players may be upset and say the officials are trying to "steal the show", but it's better than dealing with escalations and ejection reports.

I had a travel game last week where a coach told me I had to get control of the game while I was reporting a common foul on one team and an intentional on his team (two hand shove after a grab on a pass out of the paint from a rebound from a missed fast break layup attempt). Ah gee coach, don't you think that is what is happening here. There could have been another intentional foul on the play, but whatever happened was just out of my field of vision as I approached the escalating incident in the paint. My partner didn't see anything as he would have been looking through 8 bodies to see the action. The parents definitely saw something and after the game the offended player was saying to his team mates that his gut still hurt from the elbow...

No matter how much we hear that the game is going to be called tighter this year, it doesn't happen.   Two man crew?  Three  man crew?  Sometimes there's no difference when they allow defenders to use hands on the  dribbler, which, I believe, is the best place to clean-up the game.  Three man crews would certainly help clean-up play off the ball, but basketball is a physical game and there is going to be arm bars on cutters and body contact used for positioning.  I'm not an official, but I feel if you cleaned-up the on-ball defense, it would set the tone.

I remember in the pre-season tournament hearing complaints that too many fouls were called, here we are today kind of saying the opposite.   It is difficult to change a culture, when everything around us and the world of ESPN screams brash, cocky, in your face athletic behavior. (Take Richard Sherman for example) Their are a lot of words being spoken in the locker room and on the court.  Tell me that no coach has ever put their toughest player on their opponents best player and told him to get in their head.   That type of strategy has been going on for many years. Back in the day an old HS coach had his best player sit in the stands next to the opponents best during the JV game. In "Hoosiers" Coach tells his defender he wants to know what kind of chewing gum the opponent's best chews. Call it Gamesmanship.

The game of basketball is highly competitive and physical by nature.  It is in our face every night on television. (I can get 8-12 college and pro games a night just sitting in my living room) I have seen a few incidents lately where college officials have gone to the video-tape to evaluate on the ball rough play. That fact proves to me that it may be an impossibly tough game to officiate. As long as officials are giving us their best, what more can we ask for?  

When every role model on the basketball court from coaches berating officials to players banging their chests after dunks, it becomes part the culture.  Two officials with whistles are going to change that?  The coach who says let me do the screaming, do as I say not as I do, can try, but ultimately his power is limited.  Don't say anything to anyone?  More often than not coaches stand the entire game and give the official an earful on every call he disagrees with.  I've see college coaches, Coach K, Tom Izzo,,, I've seen  HS coaches Jimmy Migs and Doc, (to name a few) and I know how hard I would play if I were wearing their colors.

Are all officials created equal?   I can not presume that they are, but as I look at the situation from afar, I feel that they are in a thankless position and deserve more credit than they get.

Long time viewer first time writer:
Clarification on last nights pushing and shoving.  There were NO punches thrown.  Boykins and Brown were aggressively going after a ball the whistle blew, Brown walked away #3 for alvirne gave a little elbow to Boykin and then Boykin gave a 2 handed push...  #3  and Boykins should have been given the technicals.  Boykins should have never been thrown out of the game.  The refs let the game get out of control early.  The coaches should have called a TO.  I have watched BG play 4 times this year, they flat out play harder then their opponent and that's exactly what happened last night.  I have only seen Alvirn play twice, they are better then what they showed last night.

If this is silly, disregard. There are roughly 43 games played on Tues and Fri's correct?
That's 86 refs per night. What if say, DI and DIII ;played Monday and Thursday with 3 man crews and DII and DIV played Tuesday and Friday's (or DI could play T&F so as not too upset the bias) with 3 man crews. There would be 23 games (69 refs) on M&R and 20 games on T&F (60 refs).
Just wondering if it may clean the game up, and maybe the officials wouldn't get the crap they get nightly for making too many calls being out of position.

jp: You're forgetting one thing. If you say roughly 86 officials are needed for 43 games, it is actually 172 officials when you factor in the JV games. This further complicates the 3man vs 2 man scenario. All these games need officials whether they be JV or Varsity.

And believe it or not referees are human. They have families and personal lives. On any given night there might be 20, 40, 60 etc officials who have a day blocked to work late, go to a child's play, take care of an elderly parent etc etc. Officials do have needs within their own families that need to be taken care of.

I figured it would be nice to give a human touch to basketball officials     

Cue the sad song and a voice over by Sally Struthers telling me for just .17 a day, I can save the endangered ref....


  

J/K T& F you know I have the back of the striped, whistle blowing officials.

Thanks Tulliver   

It almost feels like Valentine's Day  

Everybody know's I love all referee's.BUT...................................................................HUMAN?.............................WHERE? I've' got to see this.

...............Families? personal lives? now your getting all gushy on me.........And I thought they were put on this planet just to make me miserable...........Learn something new every day..............Shocked.

Every once in a while a referee will consume a Lobster Roll