i ref a TON of games every year so i think i can chime in here. when the clock runs down, there is a ref that has the responsibility for the clock - and making sure the shot got off in time. HOWEVER, the other 1 or 2 refs (depends on what level we are talkign about here) usually count down the clock in their heads, too. i know for me - when the clock gets to 10, i count it down in my head and am usually no more than a "tick" off either way. say what you will about this ref, but to officiate a game at this level, he has to be well thought of, so i have zer doubt he should have known how much time was left in the game.
for him to call a foul here is 100% uncalled for. one of the biggest things i use to make calls is considering "advantage." in this play, there was NO advantage gained on the play at all therefore there shouldn't have been a foul - unless the foul is truly a blatant one - which this one wasn't. i can say with 100% certainty i would NOT have called a foul for i would have known how much time was left on the clock and in that siuation - would have known there was NO advantge on the play.
for me, if i see a player spinning out of control and he (or she) gets slightly bumped, sorry - i am NOT calling it. if someone is out of control in my mind, they lose just about all right to have a foul called in their favor. the way i see it - if the player gets tapped - it didn't affect the play and no advantage was gained - therefore - NO foul.
i wish this ref had done the same.
as bad as this call was - it wasn't nearly as bad as the one in the ucla/bama game a few years back.
game tied with not many seconds left. ucla makes the 1st ft to go UP 1. they miss the 2nd on purpose - a good move. bama calls timeout with 0.8 seconds left. bama inbounds the ball under it's own basket - having to go 94 feet. because it was a missed shot - bama had to throw the ball in from the spot - and couldn;t run the baseline. but the girl runs the baseline - and NEVER gets called for travelling - which it was clearly. the bama girl throws it the length of the court. the ball tips off the bama girl's hand (meaning the clock should start) then the backboard then bounces out to a bama girl at the 3-point line who sinks the winning shot to win the game. the refs run as fast as they can off the court - and once the refs leave the court - GAME OVER!
THAT was the worst call i have ever seen on any level. the refs screwed up in so many ways it wasn't funny. ucla coach kathy olivier was screaming for a travel call when the girl ran on the throw-in - but never got it. the refs on the floor have to know the clock and once it hits the bama girl's hand the first time they have to know the last shot shouldn't have counted - but since we are talking about a game in the south - with refs that were clearly hometown refs - it counted. one of the lame excuses i heard was how the clock operator was some old guy and he was working one of his very last games so cut him a break! are you kidding me? in my mind - baylor/UT call wasn't anywhere near as bad as the ucla call - especially since that game was played on bama's home court.
