Game Log 12/28/2005: I So Own This Rule Now

Great game today--two running teams, one local, and one from Canada. It was tied at halftime, White took the lead by about nine in the fourth quarter, and Green came rushing back hard. They were within one, gave up a pair of free throws, then had a chance to tie it with a buzzer three that missed.

I've been saying I was out of shape lately. I didn't feel it today. These little snots ran and ran and ran, and I managed to keep up without ever feeling tired. My partner has a reputation (he says it's unmerited) for calling very few fouls. In pre-game, I said I'm a big fan of getting a few fouls early. We did, then had very few in the second quarter. The game was a bit physical, but it mostly felt right. There was one weird block in the second quarter where White had a fairly ugly reach over Green's head while Green went up for a shot...no verticality given whatsoever. I was all ready to call it, but she absolutely got all ball. Green's coach was incensed, but I know I got that one right.

I had a weird situation that I probably could have handled better. It won't happen again. With about 4 minutes left, Green had the ball for a baseline throw-in. During the throw-in, at the elbow, Green gave a really bad push on a pick--threw both forearms out. Nobody gets to do that in my game. I blew it, I sold it, and I said "Team control. No one-and-one." Cool! I've got the new rule! No shots. I zipped around to give white the throw-in, handed the player the ball, and then said...uh-oh...there's no team control during a throw-in. White should be shooting.

White hadn't thrown it in yet, so I decided that the best route was to blow the play dead and shoot the merited free throws. Correctable error and all that. So I had it right by the book. At the next dead ball, my partner, however, said: "Don't be calling that fantasy shit." (It wasn't as bad as it sounds.) And I can see his point--I might have been better off just living with the error and moving on with the game. But now that I'm writing and reflecting on this, I think I made the best of the bad situation. Yeah, I know I shouldn't have been there to begin with, but now I've got it and won't let it happen again. And I got it right today...just a hair too late.

Other than that, all went fine. My partner said my 5-second count is a little quick (this after I had back-to-back 5-second calls). I'll have to tape myself to see. I positioned myself in the wrong place on some key late free-throws (silly brain freeze). On the whole, this was a good game--and yet another one in which I wasn't evaluated!

THINGS I DID WELL: Kept composure, called it tight early and loosened up
THINGS TO WORK ON: 5-second count, shot clock awareness, confidence in weird situation (get the damn thing right the first time).
NEXT: Three games--including two varsity tournament games--on Friday.