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
If you shoot a jump shot and someone touches your waist, it normally disrupts the flow of your shot, and therefore should generally be called. BUT, this calls for your judgement - if you think the touching causes the shooter to alter the rhythm of his shot then call a handcheck. Other than in a shooting situation, I suggest these guidelines for calling a handcheck: foul if 1) the handcheck dislodges the dribbler or postplayer, or 2) the handpressure is constant on a moving opponent.
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Not at all. I am biased toward the Big Ten so I went down with Wisconsin already in the 1st round. My beloved Illini nearly lost to Colorado State too. My best pick so far this year is California over UNLV, but generally I am middle of the pack. How about you?
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The officials NEVER remain at the scorers table. Directly from the NFHS rulebook: The official scorebook shall remain at the scorers table througout the game, including all intermissions. Note, it says the official scorebook, not the official.
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Depends where you are. If you live in a small town you will probably be the best in your class. Around Chicago and its suburbs, there are more important measurements: speed, height, jump shot form, fundamentals, basketball IQ, etc.. The basketball landscape is littered with players who dominated in 8th grade but didn't grow in height, skills or athleticism. There is a great book about one such player, Play Their Hearts Out, which chronicles the true story of Dimetrius Walker. Once, he was a sure fire next LeBron, but in high school he stopped growing and now is a bench guard in college. Be humble, and forget the scoring stats - my best advice is work on your fundamentals.
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Antiques Dealer
Do you think today's "stuff" will one day be collected as valuable antiques?
Border Patrol Agent
Do you ever feel sorry for the illegals you catch trying to cross the border?
Birthday Party Clown
OK seriously, how DOES the clown car thing work?
1) it is ok for a player to do a layup with a bent knee UNTIL the knee contacts a defensive player who has obtained legal guarding position. 2) It is ok for a player to bend over into a space UNLESS the offensive player contacts an opponent who has legally obtained legal guarding position. 3) There is no such rule as over the back (this is a pet peeve of mine). It is perfectly legal for an opponent to leap high enough to reach over the top of a player as long as no illegal contact is made. When the game announcer tells the fans that an "over the back" foul was called he really should be saying "there was a pushing foul, or illegal use of hands", but you will not find in the rule book over the back or reaching in.
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I played in men's leagues until about 10 years ago. Being a ref gives you a unique perspective and helps your game. But like all good things they come to an end. I am recently retired from officiaiting (and quit ballin about 10 years ago).
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see answer above.
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