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Watching The Basketball... A sports buff had barely introduced a colleague to professional basketball when an opportunity arose to prove his expertise. The Atlanta Hawks skillfully passed the ball across the court only to hear a referee yell "three seconds" and hand the ball to the opposing New York Knicks. What's this? It's simple: An offensive player stood longer than the permissible three seconds in the "pivot"-the shaded 19 x 16-foot lane around his basket. No longer considering himself a novice on this rule, the new fan went on to watch one of the Knicks stand in his lane for about three seconds, then, after receiving the ball, definitely remain there another second or two to fake, spin and shoot. But, he pointed out, both referees ignored that violation. Even the buff didn't know why. The three-second rule is waived if the player standing in the "pivot" is trying to shoot during the third second. For both avid and casual fans, there are innumerable chances to disagree with the decisions of the men who officiate either basketball or hockey games. Officials for both sports must makeso many controversial and complex rulings-while sprinting alongside the younger players-that they usually feel a need to retire at an age (45 or so) when officials only begin their careers in professional football. The two referees in each basketball game call so many fouls that one team may score more field goals (two points) yet lose the game because the opponent made a far greater number of foul shots (one point). These decisions are questioned so frequently and passionately that, in many games, a coach or player argues until a referee awards the other team a "technical foul," which enables its best foul shooter to attempt an unhindered shot. To excel in this unappreciated, oft-hectic job, referees need a lifelong commitmenttothesport.lt is particularly strong with the twenty men who spent years officiating high school and college games on a part-time basis before obtaining full-time seasonal jobs with the National Basketball Association. Many of them have never wanted any job other than to play, coach or officiate basketball. And one, Mendy Rudolph, is a second generation referee. All referees, moreover, need the instinct to stay near the ball no matter how cleverly it is passed. To simplify this, one referee stands behind the basket of the team trying to score while the other is near midcourt. When that team either loses the ball or scores, the referee at midcourt can then run ahead of the players to position himself underneath the other basket. His partner, meanwhile, shifts from under the goal to midcourt. The referee underneath the basket must scrutinize so much scuffling that he rarely even sees the ball go through the goal. Theorizing "no harm, then no foul" during most contact, he particularly watches for spirited "picks," which bump a defenseman out of a play and jarring collisions that are caused by either blocking by a defenseman or charging by the player with the ball. When the ball is near the basket, this referee determines if the offensive man's arms were struck or anyone else pushed or elbowed. When players leap for a ball rebounding off the basket fastened ten feet above the floor, the referee also knows where to watch for a player immobilizing an opponent by stepping on his toes or pushing off his shoulder for leverage. The referee at midcourt also rules on collisions within his area. But he is largely responsible for determining both "loose ball fouls" during scrambles and "backcourt fouls" when a team is trying to seize the ball; or deciding whether a team loses possession of the ball because a player moved both feet without dribbling, touched a boundary or knocked a ball out of bounds. (When the referees disagree on who last touched a ball, they have two opposing players jump for it.) The midcourt referee signals perfunctorily when a field goal is obviously scored and authoritatively when someone misses a shot but is still awarded two points because a leaping opponent "goal tended" by either deflecting the ball as it descended or touched the ball or basket when the ball was on the rim of the basket. 22
Object Description
Title |
Watching the whistle men |
Author |
Surface, Bill |
Subject |
Basketball -- Referees Hockey -- Referees |
Abstract | Illustration not included in the Web version. |
Citation |
H&S Reports, Vol. 09, (1972 no. 1), p. 22-24 |
Date-Issued | 1972 |
Source | Originally published by: Haskins & Sells |
Rights | Copyright and permission to republish held by: Deloitte |
Type | Text |
Format | PDF page image with corrected OCR scanned at 400 dpi |
Collection | Deloitte Digital Collection |
Digital Publisher | University of Mississippi Library. Accounting Collection |
Date-Digitally Created | 2010 |
Language | eng |
Identifier | HSReports_1972_Winter-p22-24e |