Hinsa wrote:I absolutely liked what the officials were doing at the beginning of the year - calling it tight. Kids did adjust as you say. They had to quit fouling or sit on the bench. Now the games are slipping back into bump and grind as officials have loosened up on the fouls they called early on in the season. I would much rather see a foul called when a foul is commited, regardless of whether any advantage was gained.
Watched a game last night officiated by a 3-person crew who do a lot of college games. Very professional crew. The game was officiated fine. The difference was, it resembled a college game. Very physical, literally 10 obvious ("over the back") push from behind on rebounds which went uncalled. Very physical play in the lane and then some lighter fouls called on the perimeter. It was pretty consistent, so no problem there.
The emphasis at the beginning of the year was to tighten up the officiating. This would naturally make for more consistent reffing from one crew to the next. I really don't have a point, just an observation. I still believe that players will adjust to the officials if they remain consistent throughout the game, which this crew did fine at. The only difference is, some teams are going to benefit from this type of physical play and some will not.
I too prefer the tighter reffed games. I believe it stops giving an advantage to bigger, more physical teams or teams with deep benches who can foul at will knowing they have a replacement from the bench. Also, it should be easier to ref, as it reduces grey area calls.
But no matter what, if they remain consistent for both sides and throughout the game, I don't have any problems.