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Message: [QUOTE="YKCornelius, post: 4535973, member: 9864"] Sun, to be clear, I think [B]that[/B] particular hand-off (more like a short toss?) from Nika to Aubrey should have been an assist. Let me thank you up front for posting the link to this year’s version of the NCAA Basketball Statisticians’ Manual. That said, the criteria you cite is only part of the considerations the official scorer should be evaluating. Here are two citations straight out of the opening paragraph of Section 5 (Assists): “A player is credited with an assist when the player makes, in the judgment of the statistician, the principal pass contributing directly to a field goal (or an awarded score of two or three points).” “Such a pass should be either (a) a pass that finds a player free after he or she has maneuvered without the ball for a positional advantage, or (b) a pass that gives the receiving player a positional advantage he or she otherwise would not have had.” In layman’s terms, there are two elements necessary for an assist. Both should be present for an assist to be credited. The first is a pass that results in a field goal (or an award of points after an interference call). That first element is reflected in the first quote. The second element can probably be adequately explained as “intent” (i.e., the passer intends for the receiver to shoot). Conditions (a) or (b) reflected in the second quote comprise the second element, and allow for the statistician to differentiate from passes that just happen to precede a score (see the Approved Rulings that describe the latter). IMO, the only pass that MIGHT not have been considered an assist (based on a beginner’s interpretation of A.R 1(b)) would have been Nika’s pass into Dorka in the fourth period, where Dorka faked left and then spun right for the basket. However, I would contend that an assist is normally given on that play 9 out of 10 times across women’s (and men’s) college basketball. Heck, it is the bread-and-butter behind Caitlin Clark’s assist totals with Monica Czinano! Glad to read that at least one other poster (TWG236) thinks the same way I do regarding the assist totals. Overall, I think it was a challenging night for the official scorer in all aspects. A tough job for sure, but someone has to do it…. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach