Why is Big 10 BB officiating so pathetic?

M

martod1

New Member
Iowa is a bad team by Big Ten Standards, I know that. This doesn't excuse the terrible officiating.
Are league officials monitoring this? Something really needs to change. Both teams never have any idea what is going to get called. This distracts from the athletic competition and I would think the Big 10 would just be flat out embarrassed by this.
I wouldn't want most of the officials working a grade school game, I hope they are getting failing grades and are not automatically signed on year after year.
Seriously, if anyone knows the process, I would appreciate any info.

Frustrated Hawk fan:mad:
 
It's not just this game it's every game. The crap Sullinger got away with yesterday at the end was a joke.
 
IF YOU INITIATE CONTACT IT'S A FOUL ON YOU!!! YOU SHOULDN'T GET GODDAMN FREE THROWS!!!!
 
Yes, I meant that all big 10 officiating is terrible, not any specific Hawkeye game. Although, I just happen to be watching the Gopher game and see the trend is continuing.
 
don't think it's just big 10 officals, the big problem is that the refs are so darn inconsistent on how they call the game. a foul ia a foul on both ends of the floor.
 
blkngoldUofI said:
don't think it's just big 10 officals, the big problem is that the refs are so darn inconsistent on how they call the game. a foul ia a foul on both ends of the floor.
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Yeah, basketball refs kind of suck period. At least at high levels. The NBA officials are just atrocious. Maybe it's a hard game to officiate, and it is, but game in and game out the calls that are being made in games are terrible. Maybe it's something these leagues should be looking into because it makes a great game really hard to watch.

I'm done ranting now.
 
IMO they started calling the college game like the NBA years ago so there was an easier transition for the players. IMO the NBA is nothing more than WWE with a ball.
 
Also, to add another point onto my thought is that I rarely see young officals. Most officals are out of place to call some of the fous and that is because they are old.
 
Part of the reason you don't see many young officials in the NCAA is you don't see many young officials period at any level. Quite frankly it's hard to find guys willing to put up with the kind of abuse that officials take. I know there are several officials in the local association here that would gladly stop working games but there isn't anyone capable of taking thier place.

The other part of the reason you don't see many young officials is officials organizations can be very political, and to a large degree a good old boys network. Guys that assign games have "their guys" and it can be very hard breaking into the ranks and advancing. I've been a part of several different organizations and I can tell you the Iowa City group is as good as it gets, but there are other associations and assigners in the that are difficult to break in to.

Lastly you find very few guys willing to put in the work that it takes to work up to D1 ball. You cut your teeth on youth, JH, and sub varsity games for a few years, then you have to work your way into varsity starting with lower classes and girls contests. After a few years doing those you start getting more and more guys games, and moving up in classes. Another few years working high level HS games and you can begin to work into D3, D2, college games, and prove yourself there for 2-3 years and hope you get noticed and you begin working D1 games. So all together you are talking 10+ years to work your way up, and if you move or relocate along the way you typically have to take a step back due to the political nature of the associations and assigners.

EDIT:
I should also say this. Unless you have done the job you have no idea how difficult it is. I firmly believe that all HS head coaches should be required to officiate for one year prior to coaching. I too can sit in my easy chair and pick apart an officials game, but you have no idea how fast the action truly is when you are five feet from it. You blink, or you divert your attention for a milisecond from the play at hand and you miss an obvious travel. You know you missed it, you know it was there, but you can't call it if you don't see it... It is without a doubt the most humbling experience in my life.
 
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DuffMan said:
Part of the reason you don't see many young officials in the NCAA is you don't see many young officials period at any level. Quite frankly it's hard to find guys willing to put up with the kind of abuse that officials take. I know there are several officials in the local association here that would gladly stop working games but there isn't anyone capable of taking thier place.

The other part of the reason you don't see many young officials is officials organizations can be very political, and too a large degree a good old boys network. Guys that assign games have "their guys" and it can be very hard breaking into the ranks and advancing. I've been a part of several different organizations and I can tell you the Iowa City group is as good as it gets, but there are other associations and assigners in the that are difficult to break in to.

Lastly you find very few guys willing to put in the work that it takes to work up to D1 ball. You cut your teeth on youth, JH, and Sub varsity games for a few years, then you have to work your way into varsity starting with lower classes and girls contests. After a few years doing those you start getting more and more guys games, and moving up in classes. Another few years working high level HS games and you can begin to work into D3, D2, college games, and prove yourself there for 2-3 years and hope you get noticed and you begin working D1 games. So all together you are talking 10+ years to work your way up, and if you move or relocate along the way you typically have to take a step back due to the political nature of the associations and assigners.

EDIT:
I should also say this. Unless you have done the job you have no idea how difficult it is. I firmly believe that all HS head coaches should be required to officiate for one year prior to coaching. I too can sit in my easy chair and pick apart an officials game, but you have no idea how fast the action truly is when you are five feet from it. You blink, or you divert your attention for a milisecond from the play at hand and you miss an obvious travel. You know you missed it, you know it was there, but you can't call it if you don't see it... It is without a doubt the most humbling experience in my life.
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This is very true. I umpired a few junior high baseball and softball games when I was in high school, and it was pretty tough. It wasn't so much me having trouble with seeing the plays, I was just such a bundle of nerves being on the spot that I would hesitate to make the actual call a lot of the time.

My dad was the baseball coach when I was in school, and he could be pretty rough on the umpires. But then again, he umpired for just about 10 years for high school and JUCO games (even got a few games with Maplewood when Pujols was there). Never got on officials who didn't deserve it.
 
DuffMan said:
Part of the reason you don't see many young officials in the NCAA is you don't see many young officials period at any level. Quite frankly it's hard to find guys willing to put up with the kind of abuse that officials take. I know there are several officials in the local association here that would gladly stop working games but there isn't anyone capable of taking thier place.

The other part of the reason you don't see many young officials is officials organizations can be very political, and too a large degree a good old boys network. Guys that assign games have "their guys" and it can be very hard breaking into the ranks and advancing. I've been a part of several different organizations and I can tell you the Iowa City group is as good as it gets, but there are other associations and assigners in the that are difficult to break in to.

Lastly you find very few guys willing to put in the work that it takes to work up to D1 ball. You cut your teeth on youth, JH, and Sub varsity games for a few years, then you have to work your way into varsity starting with lower classes and girls contests. After a few years doing those you start getting more and more guys games, and moving up in classes. Another few years working high level HS games and you can begin to work into D3, D2, college games, and prove yourself there for 2-3 years and hope you get noticed and you begin working D1 games. So all together you are talking 10+ years to work your way up, and if you move or relocate along the way you typically have to take a step back due to the political nature of the associations and assigners.

EDIT:
I should also say this. Unless you have done the job you have no idea how difficult it is. I firmly believe that all HS head coaches should be required to officiate for one year prior to coaching. I too can sit in my easy chair and pick apart an officials game, but you have no idea how fast the action truly is when you are five feet from it. You blink, or you divert your attention for a milisecond from the play at hand and you miss an obvious travel. You know you missed it, you know it was there, but you can't call it if you don't see it... It is without a doubt the most humbling experience in my life.
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Great post and very true. The local associations that serve as a springboard to college ball and higher level assignments can be some of the most political organizations you'll ever experience. Tony Soprano has nothing on some of their leaders.

Also great points about the time and effort involved. A referee wishing to make it to the highest levels really needs to start young and keep at it. It's not a road you begin in your late 30s or mid 40s and reach D1 ball, or reasonably expect to.
 
DuffMan said:
Part of the reason you don't see many young officials in the NCAA is you don't see many young officials period at any level. Quite frankly it's hard to find guys willing to put up with the kind of abuse that officials take. I know there are several officials in the local association here that would gladly stop working games but there isn't anyone capable of taking thier place.

The other part of the reason you don't see many young officials is officials organizations can be very political, and too a large degree a good old boys network. Guys that assign games have "their guys" and it can be very hard breaking into the ranks and advancing. I've been a part of several different organizations and I can tell you the Iowa City group is as good as it gets, but there are other associations and assigners in the that are difficult to break in to.

Lastly you find very few guys willing to put in the work that it takes to work up to D1 ball. You cut your teeth on youth, JH, and Sub varsity games for a few years, then you have to work your way into varsity starting with lower classes and girls contests. After a few years doing those you start getting more and more guys games, and moving up in classes. Another few years working high level HS games and you can begin to work into D3, D2, college games, and prove yourself there for 2-3 years and hope you get noticed and you begin working D1 games. So all together you are talking 10+ years to work your way up, and if you move or relocate along the way you typically have to take a step back due to the political nature of the associations and assigners.

EDIT:
I should also say this. Unless you have done the job you have no idea how difficult it is. I firmly believe that all HS head coaches should be required to officiate for one year prior to coaching. I too can sit in my easy chair and pick apart an officials game, but you have no idea how fast the action truly is when you are five feet from it. You blink, or you divert your attention for a milisecond from the play at hand and you miss an obvious travel. You know you missed it, you know it was there, but you can't call it if you don't see it... It is without a doubt the most humbling experience in my life.
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Excellent points, Duff. Here's a link to a story from Mike Hlas about Kevin Smith (former Hawk WR) who has worked his way up as a football ref to work the BCS title game last week. The bottom of the article mentions that he is also a high school basketball ref (he worked the LM-CR Wash BB game last Friday night). I thought this was an interesting look at what his road was. It will be interesting if he also moves up as a BB ref.

Former Hawkeye receiver Robert Smith got to college football’s biggest stage last Monday | TheGazette
 
B10 officiating is a joke. Huge advantages to the home team. Frighteningly inconsistent. Just flat-out missing calls. It's so bad it detracts from the product on the floor.
 
They need to fix it. Anyone that watches Big Ten basketball has to see this. It's not just Iowa, it's everywhere in the Big Ten. The officials do not determine the outcome of the game, but they surely mess up the flow and how players can play. I don't really care how it's fixed, I just want to see it get consistent. Nothing is more frustrating than watching a game that is called inconsistent. It's been happening far too often the past 5+ years in the Big Ten and needs to change. There's a reason even passerby fans know the names of Eddie Hightower and Teddy Valentine... it's not because they are respected by the fanbases.
 
I particularly enjoyed how Gatens was pretty much getting raped in the lane at the end of the game and nothing was called. And then one of our guys gets called for basically tapping a Minny player on the back of the hand the next time down. Pathetic.
 
There is definitely some home cooking in the B10. There is a website where you can see the disparity in fouls called and free throw attempts by the home team sorted by official and I think the big name guys in the B10 had something like 8-10 more free throw attempts by home teams over a long period of time.
 
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