RebKell's Junkie Boards

[ClayK]

I posted this on the college site, and it's less applicable to the WNBA because of the way officials are trained -- but still ...

So here's a look at the problem at the high school level, which is where it all starts:

http://www.nfhs.org/articles/recruiting-retaining-officials-challenges-state-associations/?utm_source=delivra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=April+HST+17&utm_id=459936&dlv-ga-memberid=24267096&utm_term=Official+Recruiting&mid=24267096&ml=459936

And of course one huge issue is fan, coach and player attitude towards officials. Too many people complain and not enough people act -- if you really want to make refs better, get a whistle and start doing CYO games.

"Oh, I could never do that," people say, while screaming at the ref during games and complaining that poor officiating spoils the game. If you can't do it yourself, just quit yelling at the ref -- that seems fair, doesn't it?

And finally, what I hated most about officiating was getting yelled at for a good call when I was in perfect position -- and knuckleheads 80 feet away who've never read a rule book would go nuts. If I made a bad call, and I made plenty, then the abuse was easier to take.

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[ClayK]

So those who watched the Cavs destroy the Warriors Friday night also witnessed an officiating dumpster fire. (The better team won, so no issue there ...)

The point is this: The NBA is a global powerhouse with a huge, huge budget, and the Finals are its showcase -- best teams, best players, best officials. And the refs still couldn't get calls to the scorer's table right or control the game.

So if the NBA can't get better officiating than that, what can we reasonably expect from the WNBA?

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[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Generally speaking I've found myself saying "good call" more often this year even in the games NY has been minus at the foul line by a lot, which has happened a few times this year. I attributed it more to Kiah's poor start than the officiating.

I do, however think that there was a certain bare minimum that we need to expect in light of last year's playoffs...i.e....applying rules correctly, getting the obvious ones right at a greater rate and applying consistency to both teams.

I wonder if there's been more focus on pre-season training this year. This is the first year in God knows how long where I can say there's a consistency to the types of fouls they're calling and letting go. And where lurching yourself into a defensive player who has good defensive position doesn't automatically result in a foul. I could be wrong who knows. Maybe I'm just getting older. But in spite of NYs generally minus FT rate I've thought there have been improvements in application of defensive positioning in relation to foul calls and overall consistency.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.