Call It Both Ways Zebra

​I recently had the opportunity to take in several games during the Oklahoma class 2A-4A state basketball tournament.  I enjoy watching great basketball and learning from some of the best officials in the state. It also allowed me to actually hear the jeers reigning from the peanut gallery.  It became evident very quickly that the most popular phrase of the weekend would be “Call it both ways zebra!”

At one contest it was yelled during the very first possession of the game! This tells me that fans habitually bark phrases like this, or they are insecure about their team’s chances of victory from the tip. It also became clear that the majority of fans do not think objectively or take into account what is actually happening in a game. In one instance, the opposing team had been whistled for twice as many fouls and shot 15 less free throws. What happened to respecting the game, your opponent, and the officials? The only conclusion that I can render is that many fans must be reading “How to Yell at Officials for Dummies.”

The reality is officials could care less who wins the game. Part of the officials pregame meeting does not include who the better team is, what team they plan to call fouls on, or deciding that every 50/50 call goes to the home team. Officials merely call what they see. They don’t count fouls or try to keep them even.

Did you know that if your team has an aggressive mentality and likes to utilize heavy pressure to create turnovers there is a higher probability of them committing more fouls than their opponent? This probability increases if you are playing a team that is more passive in nature and plays zone defense. Furthermore, if one team lives and dies by the three and the other team chooses to slash and drive to the bucket, there is a chance that the foul count can be skewed.

Here are a few factors that officials consider when deciding what constitutes illegal contact. Typically, one of these elements must be present to warrant a whistle. It is important to note that most officials are trained to referee the defense first when ruling on fouls.

Legal guarding position – Did the defensive player establish legal guarding position before the contact occurred?

Verticality – Did the defender keep their hands and arms extended within their own vertical plane? Remember, it is legal for a defender who has established legal guarding position to leave the floor provided they meet the rule of verticality.

Displacement – Did the contact cause a player to be moved or displaced from a position that they had legally obtained?

Keep in mind that officials may still choose to pass on a call if the contact does not disrupt or hinder the speed, balance, or rhythm of a player. When evaluating officials, there is one main question fans should ask. Are the officials being consistent with the whistle?

If officiating was easy everyone would be doing it…
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Thanks for spending 3 Seconds in the Stripes!