Game Log 12/27/2005: International Heckling

This was a fun one: a local tournament. My game featured a team from OUT OF THE COUNTRY! (OK, so it was Canada) against a team from a big US city that had to fly to get here.

First off, we noticed in the game before ours that another Canadian team was lining up on the FT blocks and heading into the key on the release of the free throw, both of which are illegal in US high school ball. So we used the pre-game to tell the Canadians those rules...then we repeated them for the coach.

This game had multiple personalities. Partner and I called a few early, then settled in for a marvelous second quarter--we almost didn't have to call a foul the whole quarter. (We wound up calling only 2 that quarter--both in the last minute and a half--and 11 for the half.) I thought it was a fantastic example of calling it tight and loosening up.

Unfortunately, the game devolved into a fairly ugly 4th quarter. We wanted to let stuff go so we could go home (the US team wound up winning by 20), and we did let a few go, but it wasn't good ball anymore. It's good to know that we share some things across boundaries, though, like a lack of understanding of the travelling and over-and-back rules, for instance.

Speaking of over and back, that was my worst kick of the day. Called one when the kid hadn't yet reached halfcourt. Bad, bad ref. Won't call that again.

The US team had some attitudes on it...I probably could have T'd one player on the team. After calling her for a walk, I headed downcourt, and when I next saw her, she looked like she was just finishing the throwing-both-hands-forward motion of disgust. If I'd seen the whole thing, I would have T'd her, but I didn't know for sure what had happened, so I didn't.

I called a lot more fouls than my partner in the first half. My partner was a guy I trust, so I asked him if he felt I was overcalling the game or tooting a few too many ticky-tacks. He said no...sometimes it's just a coincidence. We were a bit more even in the second half, so it's not such a big deal.

On the whole, this game was a good one for me--as good as the kids would let it be.

THINGS I DID WELL: Game management, didn't bail out out-of-control drivers for White
THINGS TO WORK ON: Dumb over-and-back call...not much else, to be honest. I feel we had a fine game.
NEXT: Same tournament. Winner's bracket. Tomorrow. Maybe I see the US team again.