What are your most annoying calls (or no calls) in basketball officiating

[basketballjones]

One I can't stand -- offense is driving in for a lay-up, a defender slides underneath, defender and driver make contact, defender falls, offensive guy makes lay-up (and probably falls too) -- and there's no call.... IT'S GOTTA BE SOMETHING!!! Either a block or a charge. Can't just be a no-call. That one drives me insane.  

 

Second rule that bugs me -- offensive player's driving, defensive player is parallel defending, and offensive player comes crashing into the defender to create contact and get a lay-up attempt, and gets the foul call!  I personally believe no matter what the defender does in this situation it should be a no-call! Offensive players are gifted way too much contact and allowed to barrel in out of control. It's a bail-out call.  

 

Last, if you are a post defender, and you have your hands straight up in the air, and some offensive player comes charging in and delivers a blow to your chest - it's just friggin physics that your hands are going to come down. Should not be a foul.  

[Norm Peterson]

I think they (the refs) forget the principle of verticality.  And maybe the rule just went away.  But contact in the air on a shot is called on the defense even if the defender has position and is just going straight up and the offensive player is the one moving into the contact. 

 

Really, there's no one call that gets consistently blown that bugs me.  It's the inconsistency that bugs me.  Like when a guy gets called for hanging on the rim after a dunk.  And I'm not talking some guy swinging around on it for no apparent reason.  I'm talking just doing a powerful dunk where the rim bends downward.  Happens thousands of times a season.  And there's no call.  But then one time some guy does it and a ref decides to T him up.  That's the kind of call that just blows me away.  Happened to Wes Wilkinson against Missouri a few years back.  Just a dunk with no more hanging than anyone else ever does.  But they T up Wes.  Hate that.  Arbitrarily deciding to enforce a rule that just never gets enforced at other times.

 

One of the things I hate the most is when there's gobs and gobs of contact in the paint down on your offensive end and they just let  them play but then call some ticky-tack thing under the hoop on your end.  You've been letting this go all game and then suddenly decide to start calling it tight?

 

Another inconsistency is hand checks.  I remember a game where we were trying to foul at the end.  All game long they'd been calling ticky-tack hand checks and then end of game and we're trying to maul the guy and there's no call.

 

One I guess that does bug me and that's offensive player pushing off.  Opposing PG dribbling and has his free hand stretched out in front of him holding off the defender.  Tell me, is that a hand check when the defender is making contact with that outstretched free hand with which the PG is pushing off?  That's one that bugs me.

 

And one more.  When they don't call moving screens ALL GAME LONG ESPECIALLY WHEN THE OTHER TEAM IS DOING IT and then we're down in crunch time in the last minute of a one-possession game and they call an illegal screen on Brandon Ubel.  It's like OREGON HAS BEEN DOING THAT ALL GAME LONG.  HOW THE FRIGGIN' HECK CAN YOU CALL THAT?!?

 

OK, so I guess there are a few that bug me.

[hskr4life]

One thing that gets me, probably more in high school than college is the extra step or hop that a shooter takes when he gets ready to shoot.  That is a travel plain and simple.

[Wayne Pesek]

"Carrying" the ball while dribbling needs to be enforced more.

 

If one player bends down to pick up a loose ball, and another player comes diving in to the legs of that player while attempting to recover the "fumble", that isn't "good hustle", it is a foul.  But seldom called.

[Buglem]

Over the back! I hate how they rarely call it. Gives the more athletic guys a huge advantage even if the other guy has position. Probably stems from being a 6'2 player with a two inch vertical leap that had to play the 4/5 in high school... :-)

[hugh42]

One I can't stand -- offense is driving in for a lay-up, a defender slides underneath, defender and driver make contact, defender falls, offensive guy makes lay-up (and probably falls too) -- and there's no call.... IT'S GOTTA BE SOMETHING!!! Either a block or a charge. Can't just be a no-call. That one drives me insane.  

 

Second rule that bugs me -- offensive player's driving, defensive player is parallel defending, and offensive player comes crashing into the defender to create contact and get a lay-up attempt, and gets the foul call!  I personally believe no matter what the defender does in this situation it should be a no-call! Offensive players are gifted way too much contact and allowed to barrel in out of control. It's a bail-out call.  

 

Last, if you are a post defender, and you have your hands straight up in the air, and some offensive player comes charging in and delivers a blow to your chest - it's just friggin physics that your hands are going to come down. Should not be a foul.  

 

#2 on your list is #1 for me.  A close second would be an offensive player giving a pump fake to get a defender into the air, the defender is going to fly by the offensive player, but the offensive player jumps into the path of the defender getting the foul call.  This to me is the same as flopping by a defender.  Fortunately it doesn't happen much.

[Huskerpapa]

Depends on my mood and the ebbs and flow of the game...but generally, any call that goes against the Huskers, or that I perceive should have been called on the opponent and was not called, is my most annoying at that very moment.

[Tallbaby21]

It's block charge. Basketball is better when people are trying to block shots, not when you're flopping around trying to draw a charge.

[TheGov21]

I absolutely hate when refs exaggerated their calls or come sprinting in. That tells me that they want the attention on them and not the game.

[49r]

Generally, I try to keep a pretty open mind about officiating, so while there are some calls/no calls that genuinely baffle me, I try not to get a full rage-on about the refs.

 

One thing I cannot stand though is when an official starts getting flamboyant and starts making the game about him.  You know what I mean, the calls where he blows the whistle for 15 seconds and waves his hands a couple dozen times...well after everybody on the court has stopped moving.  Or how about the ref who blows his whistle and hops on one foot from the baseline to mid court while waving his hands above his head like a ninny?

 

That's what I hate most.

[Silverbacked1]

I have always loved the flop.

 

I would love to see some of these big boys drop like that when somebody bumped in them at a pub or some guy is hitting on their girlfriend.

 

Like" Hey there Honey"

"Don't talk to my girlfriend like that"

Slight push, guys goes falling into the bar and then down to the floor. While screaming and arms flay about.

"Lets get out of here."

"Yeah, way to protect me loser."

 

Okay I have too much time on my hands.

[Cazzie22]

A foul is a foul in the first minute of the game and the last minute of a game.  Just ask Mean Gene Keady!  Announcers say let the players decide the game.  I agree, but I don't want the officials swallowing their whistle when a violation occurs, even in the last few ticks of the clock.

 

I don't like the arc under the basket.  If a defender has position it's a charge, pure and simple.

 

I don't like a bigger, stronger player displacing another player from position.  That should be a foul.

[Dean Smith]

It's block charge. Basketball is better when people are trying to block shots, not when you're flopping around trying to draw a charge.

I could probably guess your age based on that one. The younger generation (I'm old) is way too enamored with the block shot. 90% of the time it goes back to the offense. Greg McDermott told me once he intentionally (or at least claimed so after the fact) got his shot blocked early in some games against aggressive shot blockers. You can then own them with a shot fake for the rest of the game.

[Dean Smith]

A foul is a foul in the first minute of the game and the last minute of a game.  Just ask Mean Gene Keady!  Announcers say let the players decide the game.  I agree, but I don't want the officials swallowing their whistle when a violation occurs, even in the last few ticks of the clock.

 

I don't like the arc under the basket.  If a defender has position it's a charge, pure and simple.

 

I don't like a bigger, stronger player displacing another player from position.  That should be a foul.

I loved watching Almeida after getting frustrated by Illinois players out jumping him for rebounds resort to getting a run and smashing into them to get position. Never called once last night. Might say more about how the game was officiated.

[colhusker]

3 seconds,

traveling, -

palming

over the back,

double dribble

[nebrasketball10]

When a referee anticipates a call. On any call. It sucks.

[uneblinstu]

"Over the back" is the basketball equivalent of the "Separation of Church and State".

[basketballjones]

"

If one player bends down to pick up a loose ball, and another player comes diving in to the legs of that player while attempting to recover the "fumble", that isn't "good hustle", it is a foul. But seldom called.

Abso-frickin-lutely

[lang]

Depends on my mood and the ebbs and flow of the game...but generally, any call that goes against the Huskers, or that I perceive should have been called on the opponent and was not called, is my most annoying at that very moment.

 

Amen...I can relate.    Are these guys (refs) out to get us or what  

 

Re last night--It sure seemed, looking through my Husker glasses, that everytime we really had a chance to get really back into it... a bad call just killled the momentum.   "OK, you Huskers, get back in your place.  That's close enough".

[Daledangdarn]

[Huskerbb73]

I hate when a player goes to the floor to secure a loose ball and after he secures it, players from the other team jump all over him and the ref calls a jump ball.  There is no way that this isn't a foul.  How can you lay on a player and put your arms around him and barely have a finger on the ball and this not be a foul?

 

The charging call is one that I get frustrated over too.  It seems like there are some refs that call a charge no matter what.  Almost like they get their jollies about calling it.   

[colhusker]

Officiating basketball is a tough job but the guys with the whistles have gotten lazy.  Co-worker has told me he will not call traveling anymore (unless it is blatant) becauses coaches have told him if he does he will not get hired.

[Silverbacked1]

This is just my 2Cents, 

 

Two of my sons ref many different sports, mostly youth.  So I try not to get after officals too much because I know my sons are doing the best they can.

 

I think the 2 biggest problem with sports are 1) parents- that is a thread in itself.

 

And 2) Television-The NBA has a set of rules, that is different from college, which is different from high school, and on down the line.  Kids watch the NBA and see what is allowed for them and think that is how all games are called.  So they try to do those things.  If what they are doing is called all the time, the game would be all whistles and nothing would happen.  So things don't get called and the rules just kind of change because of that.

 

Hope this made sense.  I remember coaching my sons 1st grade team and one of the kids couldn't understand that he couldn't dunk.  He had seen it on t.v. so thought that everybody could.  

[TheGov21]

I personally hate make up calls.  Even when they benefit the team I'm rooting for.  I'd rather have the refs just get it right then to call a non foul to "even it up."  Hate that.

[longtimefan]

I agree with all the posts.  But another one I hate is when a free throw is being shot.  You have the guy in the box nearest to the basket--say #1. The next box is for the other team, #2.  #1 steps out into the lane, in front of #2  after the ball releases the shooter's hand.  Quite often #2 just body's up on #1 and pushes him towards or almost under the basket.  If #1 has postion, #2 should not be able to just push his way in.  Usually if #1 is not big and strong,  this happens all the time.

 

Coming from a generation that played in the late 60's, it really bugs me that while dribbling you are allowed to basically carry the ball.  We had to dribble on the top 1/4 of the ball.  Today you see them dribble under the half way on a ball.  Sure makes is easy to do lots of moves when you get to carry the ball.