2013 Officiating - Points of Emphasis

[49r]

There's been a smattering of discussion on this topic around the web this fall, finally the OWH reported on it (even though it's in a Creighton article).  Nevertheless, I'm glad to see this is a point of emphasis.  Might even help us out some.

 

http://www.omaha.com/article/20131014/BLUEJAYS/131019256/1001#bluejays-receive-tutorial-on-what-to-expect-from-officials-in-big-east

 

Some points of interest:

 

“The NCAA said there is not enough scoring,'' Cahill told the players. “There's too much contact out here (on the perimeter) to call something every time guys bump into each other.

...

The four points of emphasis regarding perimeter defenders, according to Cahill, are:

• Keeping a hand or forearm on an offensive player in an attempt to “measure” a player. “The key word is keep,'' he said.
• Jamming an offensive player with a hand or forearm more than once. “If you do it a second time,'' Cahill said, “it's a foul every time.''
• Placing two hands on an offensive player. “There's no free pass on this one,'' he said. “It's a foul every time.''
• Attempting to use a hand or forearm to impede the progress of a player's dribble. “You have to throw your hands and take contact with your torso,'' he said. “They want you to play defense with your feet.''

 

 

I would imagine somewhere Aaron Craft is wondering how many games he'll foul out of now.  

 

Possibly all of them?

[uneblinstu]

It should help offenses across the board. 

 

Craft is a skilled defender.  He'll adapt.

[49r]

We'll see about Craft.

 

Up to this point, though, he's relied almost exclusively on hand checking.  He's about the worst offender in that category, IMO.

[trickey]

We'll see about Craft.

 

Up to this point, though, he's relied almost exclusively on hand checking.  He's about the worst offender in that category, IMO.

If the refs don't call it...it is how you most effectively play the game. I can't blame Craft for playing by the rules they are calling.

Over the years the extremely physical defense has crept evermore into basketball.

I will be thrilled if they actually follow up on these points of emphasis....not only in November but all the way through April.

It will put more athleticism into the game and make it better to watch.

[49r]

 

We'll see about Craft.

 

Up to this point, though, he's relied almost exclusively on hand checking.  He's about the worst offender in that category, IMO.

If the refs don't call it...it is how you most effectively play the game. I can't blame Craft for playing by the rules they are calling.

Over the years the extremely physical defense has crept evermore into basketball.

I will be thrilled if they actually follow up on these points of emphasis....not only in November but all the way through April.

It will put more athleticism into the game and make it better to watch.

 

 

I agree.

[hhcmatt]

It should help offenses across the board. 

 

Craft is a skilled defender.  He'll adapt.

 

Which Craft?

[uneblinstu]

We'll see about Craft.

 

Up to this point, though, he's relied almost exclusively on hand checking.  He's about the worst offender in that category, IMO.

Yeah, he does some of that, but his bread and butter is in his relentlessness, footwork and remarkable instincts to anticipate passing lanes and disrupt rhythm.  He really doesn't do as much of the first two points as people think.  That last one “You have to throw your hands and take contact with your torso,'' he said. “They want you to play defense with your feet.'' He does this exceptionally well.

[Huskerpapa]

Given our depth, I like the point of emphasis.  But my issue has never been the contact on the perimeter.  Oftentimes a touch on the perimeter results in a call.  Yet inside the paint, a defender can mug an offensive player, yet no call.  A hack is a hack whether it is inside or outside the paint. 

[ajb5856]

Given our depth, I like the point of emphasis. But my issue has never been the contact on the perimeter. Oftentimes a touch on the perimeter results in a call. Yet inside the paint, a defender can mug an offensive player, yet no call. A hack is a hack whether it is inside or outside the paint.

But perimeter chucking disrupts offensive flow or doesn't allow any flow whatsoever and leads to 59-58 games. There is always goin to be a discrepancy in how the game is called on the perimeter versus the inside game.

[Silverbacked1]

It should help offenses across the board. 

 

Craft is a skilled defender.  He'll adapt.

 

Which Craft?

I like the Mac & Cheese when I get home from school.

[Huskerpapa]

 

Given our depth, I like the point of emphasis. But my issue has never been the contact on the perimeter. Oftentimes a touch on the perimeter results in a call. Yet inside the paint, a defender can mug an offensive player, yet no call. A hack is a hack whether it is inside or outside the paint.

But perimeter chucking disrupts offensive flow or doesn't allow any flow whatsoever and leads to 59-58 games. There is always goin to be a discrepancy in how the game is called on the perimeter versus the inside game.

 

I have to respectfully disagree, a push on the back within the paint can disrupt the offensive flow as much as a perimeter cross-check.  It is all a matter of perspective.  For example, Andre could get pushed and pulled and hit last year, yet he would rarely get a call, but if he leaned on the opposing post player, he would get called.  It led to subjective ref'ing at best.  At least on the perimeter, guards could look for consistency in the calls.  More often than not, the perimeter calls were made early, and then during the last ten to fifteen minutes, pretty much anything went.

 

The NCAA can talk all they want about points of emphasis and so forth, but it comes down to individual refs making calls and staying consistent throughout the entire contest. 

[Creighton Fan]

 

 

Given our depth, I like the point of emphasis. But my issue has never been the contact on the perimeter. Oftentimes a touch on the perimeter results in a call. Yet inside the paint, a defender can mug an offensive player, yet no call. A hack is a hack whether it is inside or outside the paint.

But perimeter chucking disrupts offensive flow or doesn't allow any flow whatsoever and leads to 59-58 games. There is always goin to be a discrepancy in how the game is called on the perimeter versus the inside game.

 

I have to respectfully disagree, a push on the back within the paint can disrupt the offensive flow as much as a perimeter cross-check.  It is all a matter of perspective.  For example, Andre could get pushed and pulled and hit last year, yet he would rarely get a call, but if he leaned on the opposing post player, he would get called.  It led to subjective ref'ing at best.  At least on the perimeter, guards could look for consistency in the calls.  More often than not, the perimeter calls were made early, and then during the last ten to fifteen minutes, pretty much anything went.

 

The NCAA can talk all they want about points of emphasis and so forth, but it comes down to individual refs making calls and staying consistent throughout the entire contest. 

 

 

I agree with CWG on all points.

 

I also suspect we will see very little real changes when games actually begin.  Sure, there may be a few statement calls early in games early in the year, but I doubt they will become a trend unfortunately.

 

If they are really going to start calling all of these things as fouls, VCU and Shaka Smart will go by the wayside pretty quickly.  Louisville and Pitino, to a lesser extent, will have to adjust their style as well.  I think Smart's Havoc system is a joke as I can count multiple fouls on every single defensive possession as all VCU does is hack, push, swat, hand check, etc.  I don't fault them as the refs have allowed them to play that way, but it seems to violate every letter of the law I have read and certainly isn't the same basketball that I grew up watching.  We'll see if the refs really have the balls to call fouls against these types of programs.

[uneblinstu]

They won't need to do it for long.  You'll probably see coaches have refs they bring in for scrimages call it over the top, you could see it as well in the first few weeks of the season.  Players will adjust.  They prefer to stay on the court.  If refs start calling fouls that take them off the court, they'll stop doing it and find a different way.

[Searching 4 Chester Surles]

The NCAA can talk all they want about points of emphasis and so forth, but it comes down to individual refs making calls and staying consistent throughout the entire contest. 

 

1000% this. I don't really care what they decide to call. Just do it consistently. That way everyone knows the rules, and can adjust accordingly. It doesn't make any sense when a team that plays full-court, with a forearm in the ball-handler's back, and two hands making contact on every change of direction, can take twice the number of free throws as their opponents, who are playing zone.

 

 

I think Smart's Havoc system is a joke as I can count multiple fouls on every single defensive possession as all VCU does is hack, push, swat, hand check, etc.  I don't fault them as the refs have allowed them to play that way, but it seems to violate every letter of the law I have read and certainly isn't the same basketball that I grew up watching.  We'll see if the refs really have the balls to call fouls against these types of programs.

 

Brad Stevens wouldn't be coaching the Celtics right now if this type of thing had been cracked down on previously. Those two finals teams, with Matt Howard (one of the cheapest, handsy players I've seen over the last few years), would have never made it as far as they did if they weren't allowed to mug every team they played and brought the game's athleticism back down to their level.