I AM CHICAGO BASKETBALL Mag November 2016 | Page 35
FEATURE
BEHIND THE
WHISTLE
RULES THAT COACHES,
5 FANS, AND PLAYERS GET
TWISTED by Richard “Taco” Williams
THE :10 COUNT ADVANCING PAST HALF COURT
There is a difference in rules - The Professional level is :8 seconds where as the high school level
is :10 seconds. I still hear some high school coaches yelling at me .”That’s 8 seconds ref!”….???
YOU CAN GET CALLED FOR A CHARGE WHILE THE DEFENSE IS MOVING:
If the defender is in legal position, beats you to the spot and you splash into him because you
don’t have control of your motions with the ball….OH YES! The referee can hit you with an
offensive charge call.
WE CONTROL THE ENTIRE GYM:
When we step on the floor, we control the entire gym. We have the authority to remove unruly
fans and call game when things get out of hand. If we don’t like where things are positioned
in the gym, we have the authority to remove it from that area. Commentators as well. If we
feel that the play by play announcer is saying something we don’t like or is inappropriate, we
can remove them from the game. Once we step foot on that floor, we have all the keys like a
janitor!
QUESTIONING A REFEREES CALL CAN LEAD TO A TECHNICAL FOUL CALL ON
YOUR TEAM:
Understand me now…..A coach or player can ‘only’ question the rules of a call and not the
actual call the referee just made….EXAMPLE: I just hit you with a traveling call and you blurt
out loud, “DAT AIN’T NOT TRAVEL REF!” I have the authority to hit you with a technical
foul call….You feel me?....Let’s say it again slowly….A coach or player can ‘only’ question the
rules to a call and not the actual call the referee just made!....That is grounds for a technical
foul call on your team….But hey! Don’t get mad at me! It’s in the official rules book.
REFEREES IN THIS CITY ARE UNDER-PAID!
We get more money refereeing high school games verses refereeing one of these Pro-am men’s
leagues across the city. It’s a headache officiating one of these men’s leagues where they do a lot
of crying and complaining with lack of knowledge in the game along with a nice amount of
players who lack skills but pop shit all the time about call not being made for them….We most
definitely under-paid in this city.
Each month we will feature a referee in IACB the mag! The whistle
has a voice now too!
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