2013/2014 Officiating

[oketex]

:facepal

Guys/Gals - I officiated for over 25 yrs, high school and college- both major and small colleges. I remember when I started I was told that "officials are never to be seen". The game was not about the officials but about the players and coaches - the object was to do your job without anyone knowing your name or remember one individual call. We were never to control the game to the point to where we would take the game away from the kids.

Today I was the Texas and WV game, around 45 fouls were called, could have been more. The same officials called OU's game last night and there were 51 fouls called. As this year has gone on the officials have become the focal point of the game, the game is now about the officials and not the players. There officials have taken the flow of the game away from the coaches and players, the fans can't get into the game because the officials are controlling every play with mickey mouse calls.

Now one of the things my crew would do in each game was to start out calling the game tight and as the game progress we would let the kids dictate the style of game, not us. That is no longer the case. The poor officiating is really out of control in the ladies games, at the beginning of the year the men's game had a lot of questionable calls but the game is now in control of the coaches and players, while there are still a few calls in every men's game that could be question, for the most part the officials are not controlling the game.

As for the women's game, something must be done before next season other wise the women's game will be lost for ever. The fans will stop going to the games, the tv networks will find something else to broadcast and then and only then will the NCAA and all the conference heads wonder what happen to such a great game, the answer -the officials took it away.

Enjoy the big dance and let's all hope for better officiating.

:OUbball-logo:

 

[sdcloud9]

The quality of officiating in the women's game has been awful for a long time. Even in the NCAA Tournament when you would think the best officials are calling.

I know one of the officials that did the OU-UT game last night (he's from the Drumright-Cushing area), he was one of the better high school officials around when he did high school games in the Northern Oklahoma area.

It's hard to put a finger on why it's so bad but it seems to be.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I've learned there is absolutely no way for officials to look good officiating women's basketball. Fans yell if you call a foul on their players even when the foul was legitimate and they yell if you don't call fouls on the opponents, saying "they are mugging our girls!"). Officials are not right all the time and neither are the fans. But, as long as the game is called consistently on both ends of the court, then it is up to the players to adjust. Sherri said it would take time for our girls to adjust to the new rules and she was right. Some still have not adjusted.

 

[oketex]

Norm - I use to say that half the cost of the fan ticket was to pull for their favorite team and the other half of the ticket was to get on my ass and for 25 yrs it worked. You said that "consistency" was the key, that has been the problem, there is no consistency this year for a lot of games, not all but a lot lack consistency.

Remember -Half the time the official if 50% wrong and the other half he is100% wrong.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Overall, I was happier with the officiating this season than in the past. I'm in favor of the new emphasis on calling the game by the actual rule book. I'll be happier if they pay more attention to the fouling going on in the post in future years. I'm sure this year was as hard for the officials to adjust to as it was for the players.

I thought the officials who called the WVU game yesterday did a good job. I didn't think much of the ones that called our game.

 

[sybarite]

I think that the people who believe that officials are non-biased are probably those who think that everyone is born with equivalent opportunity, and that justice works the same for rich and poor alike. Of course, there is bias. It is human nature.

There is a tendency to all in favor of the home team. The emotions of the crowd do become influential, and I don't know how an official can keep from being influenced. There is a tendency to accept a bit more from the favored team. After all, that center has the reputation as a good shot-blocker. She is more likely to get a favorable call than one who doesn't have that reputation, and the thought that a five-seven guard can block her shot is unheard of.

That guard that has the reputation of quickness or of playing good defense will get a call. A "good defensive" team will likely get a call because they made that steal without fouling. They are that good.

I'm not all that sure that all of Sharane's drives are even legitimate shot attempts. That is nearly always called, and it is a shock when they don't call it, especially if the other team gets that call.

If you can show me a non-biased human being, I'll believe that it the game is always called evenly. I haven't seen one yet. I even prefer neighbors on my side of the street.

 

[SoonerSpock]

I concur that fouls called impact the flow of the women's game significantly more the men's game. However, the total fouls called in each are about the same. I looked at both the men's and women's teams for Baylor, OSU and OU including their opponent's fouls. The 93 men's games averaged 39.3 f/g the 94 women's games averaged 39.6 f/g. Perhaps the men just adapt better than the women. I also think fouls will continue to go down as the players learn to better move their feet instead of their hands.

The big statistical discrepancy between the teams was the OU women averaging 21.2 f/g, Baylor women 18.6, OSU women 17.6, OU men 18.9, Baylor men 17.5 and OSU men 19.6. The question is do these numbers indicate that the Guys have less focus on defensive fundamentals or is it a mere statistical anomaly. I am inclined to think that it is our focus because we are fouling 8-20% more than the other five teams.

 

[SoonerSpock]

I think that the people who believe that officials are non-biased are probably those who think that everyone is born with equivalent opportunity, and that justice works the same for rich and poor alike. Of course, there is bias. It is human nature.

There is a tendency to all in favor of the home team. The emotions of the crowd do become influential, and I don't know how an official can keep from being influenced. There is a tendency to accept a bit more from the favored team. After all, that center has the reputation as a good shot-blocker. She is more likely to get a favorable call than one who doesn't have that reputation, and the thought that a five-seven guard can block her shot is unheard of.

That guard that has the reputation of quickness or of playing good defense will get a call. A "good defensive" team will likely get a call because they made that steal without fouling. They are that good.

Bias is your adamant prejudice toward refs.

I'm not all that sure that all of Sharane's drives are even legitimate shot attempts. That is nearly always called, and it is a shock when they don't call it, especially if the other team gets that call.

If you can show me a non-biased human being, I'll believe that it the game is always called evenly. I haven't seen one yet. I even prefer neighbors on my side of the street.

Absolutely it is human to have biases. However in a very large preponderance of the situations officials are not biased. If so they will ultimately get removed from their job. My disagreement with your point is really one of semantics.

Are officials influenced by all the factors you mention? Absolutely! That is part of the human element of the game. Biased? No. Bias is the irrational preference, prejudice or refusal to even consider the possible merits of an alternate point. That prejudice exist minimally in the stripped shirts. Influences impacting calls is not bias it is being human and unfortunately refs are human.

It is the ability to minimize being influenced by the factor you mention the helps determine who the best official are. Making basketball calls at the speed with which the game is played insures there will frequently be errors in officials calls that have nothing to do with the outside influence factor.

Factor in that both ends of the court have a different perspective on what is the correct call a high percentage of the time and what is human error can be seen as bias by the fan. When in reality the only bias is the fans perspective of the ref.

If every call was replayed I would suspect the refs are 85-95% accurate in their calls with part of the criterion for determining accuracy being calls being made same on both ends of the floor. The better refs would score on the high end of the scale the poor refs on the lower end of the scale. Very seldom do refs determine the outcome of the game.

Personally I would like to see the game called literally according to the rules. If refs did so and the fans, teams and administrators did not like how the game was being called change the rules. If refs literally followed the rules I feel certain there would more consistency in how the games were called and the refs would have less impact on the outcome of games. And that is good.

Bias is your adamant prejudice toward refs.

 

[SoonerNorm]

The bias obviously starts in the Big 12 office. They are the ones who keep sending those pesky Baylor alums to officiate all of the games. In fact, I would not be surprised to find out those refs are all related to Kim. How else could Bàylor be winning the number of games they do??? Yep, the conspiracy starts at the Big 12. We need a special prosecutor to investigate. Preferably one who didn't graduate from Baylor.

 

[tycat947]

Personally I would like to see the game called literally according to the rules. If refs did so and the fans, teams and administrators did not like how the game was being called change the rules. If refs literally followed the rules I feel certain there would more consistency in how the games were called and the refs would have less impact on the outcome of games. And that is good.

Agreed!

 

[SoonerNorm]

Spock, I think you are right on the money when it comes to officiating accuracy. If the average is 90%, that is very good because any particular play can take place in a split second. When you add the fact that refs sometimes have a bad view of the play, I would say 90% accuracy is very good.

I think it would be advantageous if each coach could challenge one play per half. If the ref made the right call, the coach loses a timeout. If the ref was wrong, the call is reversed and no loss of timeouts. That said, not sure how they would resolve all of the details that would involve.

 

[Sweetest OU Girl]

:facepal

Today I was the Texas and WV game, around 45 fouls were called, could have been more. The same officials called OU's game last night and there were 51 fouls called.

As for the women's game, something must be done before next season other wise the women's game will be lost for ever. The fans will stop going to the games, the tv networks will find something else to broadcast and then and only then will the NCAA and all the conference heads wonder what happen to such a great game, the answer -the officials took it away.

:OUbball-logo:

oketex,

Those two games did not have the same crew. One official was common in the two games (Laura Morris). I know when I saw them on the court before the game, I wondered if a "Ringer Officiating Crew" had been assigned. I had attended the previous 5 games to that point and only that one official (LM) was assigned to any other tournament game. More fouls were called in that game than any other tournament game (51). Only Laura Morris was assigned to any other game during the entire tournament.

By the way, isn't it true that Scott Yarbrough is married to an ex-Baylor player? If so, why in the world is he calling ANY Big-12 games? He did not call the OU-Texas game, but he did call the Texas-West Virginia game - and several others.

 

[MsProudSooner]

I have an officiating question that's slightly off the topic raised by the original post. If you have watched many of the men's Big XII games over the past two years, you are aware of Marcus Smart's habit of flopping in an overly dramatic fasion in an attempt to get a foul called on his opponent. I thought I detected Sims do this a couple of times in Baylor games last weekend, but not to the extent that Smart does. I would hate to see these antics spread to the women's games and I hope the officials address it in some way so that other players are discouraged from doing it.

I realize that it's sometimes hard for an official to determine if a player was actually fouled or is flopping in realtime. What can be done?

 

[SoonerNorm]

I have an officiating question that's slightly off the topic raised by the original post. If you have watched many of the men's Big XII games over the past two years, you are aware of Marcus Smart's habit of flopping in an overly dramatic fasion in an attempt to get a foul called on his opponent. I thought I detected Sims do this a couple of times in Baylor games last weekend, but not to the extent that Smart does. I would hate to see these antics spread to the women's games and I hope the officials address it in some way so that other players are discouraged from doing it.

I realize that it's sometimes hard for an official to determine if a player was actually fouled or is flopping in realtime. What can be done?

Sharane does it too. I don't think Sherri discourages the practice because she draws a lot of fouls.

 

[AdaSooner]

I have watched several OU women's games this season. On the whole, I think the officials do a pretty good job. The only thing that stands out to me is how inconsistent the changes in the rules have been applied this season.

It's obvious to me that some (not all) of the women's officials didn't get the memo from the NCAA office. The charge calls I saw those officials make would not have been a charge before the rule was changed, much less the way charges are supposed to be called now.

Having pointed that out, though, I can't really say the calls were one-sided. Were they one-sided to the fans? Depends on your perspective. Officials don't make many friends at a basketball game. Nearly every call will make someone unhappy.

The problem I see with the inconsistent application of the charge rule is that the players and coaches never know what to expect from one game to the next. I don't think that will change in post season games. In fact, it may be more obvious than it has been in Big 12 games.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Sharane does it too. I don't think Sherri discourages the practice because she draws a lot of fouls.

She also spends way too much time on the bench due to foul trouble so she must not be as 'good' at flopping as Smart is.

I would just hate to see this kind of stuff allowed in the women's game:

http://imgur.com/a/WKl5g

 

[Soonerbay]

Bottom line...officials are human. They come from different life experiences, training, values and backgrounds. Some will stick strictly by the book. Some will be persuaded based upon respect...and respect works both ways.

Overall, MOST officials will respect the team (players and coach) that respects the officials AND has a coach that really knows what they are doing. They will take some chewing from a coach that is coaching/getting on their players as much as they are getting on the official. It's all about attitude and not taking it personal, which is one of the reasons that GAuriema, KMulkey and others can get away with a little bit more. Each person has their own style of coaching. The key is to make sure the players understand that as well. Let the coach handle it and ADJUST to the style of the official just like you have to adjust to the style of offense or defense that your opponent presents. Officiating is part of the game and teams should plan accordingly. Just like you watch film on opponents to learn them, learn your officials. Again, bottom line...officials are human. You get all types!

 

[rocjunkie]

I have watched several OU women's games this season. On the whole, I think the officials do a pretty good job. The only thing that stands out to me is how inconsistent the changes in the rules have been applied this season.

It's obvious to me that some (not all) of the women's officials didn't get the memo from the NCAA office. The charge calls I saw those officials make would not have been a charge before the rule was changed, much less the way charges are supposed to be called now.

Having pointed that out, though, I can't really say the calls were one-sided. Were they one-sided to the fans? Depends on your perspective. Officials don't make many friends at a basketball game. Nearly every call will make someone unhappy.

The problem I see with the inconsistent application of the charge rule is that the players and coaches never know what to expect from one game to the next. I don't think that will change in post season games. In fact, it may be more obvious than it has been in Big 12 games.

I agree with you on this. For the most part when the officials have "stunk" from my point of view, it was on both sides of the fence, and then when they were good, it was both ways too. I can only remember a couple of games at home that I thought we got hosed pretty good.

Sharane and Kaylon do try too hard to get charging calls, and they spend valuable minutes on the bench when they are not successful. I appreciate their passion to turn a possession around, but it seems most times they get bit. They need to learn to keep feet moving and hold good defensive position and stop getting into foul trouble.

With all that being said, my biggest problem with the officials this season is the inconsistencies. You see one official call a ticky-tack no harm or no taking away a drive call, then you see some one get absolutely hammered on a rebound and no call. Or games called one way the first half, then different the second half. Just be consistent and give Mulkey more Technicals. Okay had to throw that last one in.