Referee Baiting by a Head Coach

[Improviser]

How effective is it as a strategy? Examples: Deliberate technicals, constant questioning of most calls, sarcasm after a non-call.

If habitual(game after game), do referees get intimidated and "balance out the calls" for the rest of the game, or do they not care and even look for an excuse to T up the coach and get him thrown out?

Do referees remember and hold it against that particular coach for the other games on the schedule that they referee?

 

[Huskybass]

I think JC made his point and got respect for the most part, although a few were eager to T him up and toss him it seemed. But on the whole I think it worked for him.

Interesting thread.

 

[August_West]

I think JC made his point and got respect for the most part, although a few were eager to T him up and toss him it seemed. But on the whole I think it worked for him.

Interesting thread.

It did work for him. It doesn’t work for most.

 

[Palatine]

How effective is it as a strategy? Examples: Deliberate technicals, constant questioning of most calls, sarcasm after a non-call.

If habitual(game after game), do referees get intimidated and "balance out the calls" for the rest of the game, or do they not care and even look for an excuse to T up the coach and get him thrown out?

Do referees remember and hold it against that particular coach for the other games on the schedule that they referee?

It is a very effective strategy employed by almost every hall of fame coach.

It was also something that Kevin Ollie never understood or employed. Sorrry for the gratuitous KO bash but that was a pet peeve of mine.

 

[Huskybass]

It is a very effective strategy employed by almost every hall of fame coach.

It was also something that Kevin Ollie never understood or employed. Sorrry for the gratuitous KO bash but that was a pet peeve of mine.

There was that one time he swiped a whole pile of papers onto the floor. I think he got Td up for that. Would have loved to have seen more fire like that the last 2 or 3 years, but he just wasn't the same guy.

 

[August_West]

There was that one time he swiped a whole pile of papers onto the floor. I think he got Td up for that. Would have loved to have seen more fire like that the last 2 or 3 years, but he just wasn't the same guy.

Maryland game at msg

 

[Kenny11]

In youth basketball it doesn’t work and just makes you look like a cokkboy. But the same tactics work at a higher level. I think fans getting on the refs work better though except for uconn home aac games where the refs seemed to enjoy enraging the fans.

 

[the Q]

In youth basketball it doesn’t work and just makes you look like a cokkboy. But the same tactics work at a higher level. I think fans getting on the refs work better though except for uconn home aac games where the refs seemed to enjoy enraging the fans.

I’m amazed how many parents are ok leaving their kids under the supervision and tutelage of guys who act like that....

 

[XLCenterFan]

It’s just like every other instance where game theory can be applied. Most situations in life, both long and short-term, are constant games of poker.

 

[MDHuskFan]

Baseball manager ejection>B-ball coach Tech/ejection IMO

 

[superjohn]

It worked for Calhoun but Calhoun is an intimidating guy. Good coaches know how to work refs into making calls for them but most wouldn't flat out scare refs into making calls like JC did.

 

[krinklecut]

There was that one time he swiped a whole pile of papers onto the floor. I think he got Td up for that. Would have loved to have seen more fire like that the last 2 or 3 years, but he just wasn't the same guy.

Momentum was swinging our way in a huge, nationally broadcast game against Maryland at MSG, and KO decided to finally finally show he had some life in him at the worst possible moment.

 

[CbbisGreat]

Its not always just the intimidation factor .By complaining on the 50 50 calls that go against him the coach attempts to instill a sense that the ref owes him a call.

 

[cohenzone]

I’m amazed how many parents are ok leaving their kids under the supervision and tutelage of guys who act like that....

This reminded me of a game years ago my son was playing in a middle school rec league. The refs were all older teens. One of the asst coaches for our opposition, kind of loud but nice guy, was getting on the refs (they were pretty bad). They warned him. Just after halftime he said something that actually wasn’t aimed at the refs. He was unhappy with one of his players. One of the refs thought it was aimed at him and tossed the guy out of the gym. I was cracking up.

 

[mauconnfan]

JC at Northeastern vs our Huskies in the Colonial Classic finals. He noticed the refs were thinking UConns supposed to get the calls and win their own tournament. Well not too far into the game we’re getting all the calls and I see this jamoke of a coach rip his jacket off and start chasing refs on the court from his sidelines. Well he got the Big T and thereafter he also began to get the calls. Man I can tell you I didn’t like that coach while watching this game at the HCC. Little did I know

 

[Mr. French]

In youth basketball it doesn’t work and just makes you look like a cokkboy. But the same tactics work at a higher level. I think fans getting on the refs work better though except for uconn home aac games where the refs seemed to enjoy enraging the fans.

Was just going to say, HS level and down it doesn’t work. Mostly because the refs are so awful and not nuanced enough to play that game. They just are bad.

 

[mauconnfan]

Was just going to say, HS level and down it doesn’t work. Mostly because the refs are so awful and not nuanced enough to play that game. They just are bad.

When I was playing HS hoops in the 70's it was up to the schools to get the refs for their home games. LOL the home cookings were unbelievable at times, almost laughable. Good news is whenever we played Southington I never saw John Fontana do our games. Still he didn't like our coaches Norb Fahey and Ed Zajac in the those days so when we had him do any of our games it was never pretty, think it stemmed from our heated baseball rivalry but whatever it was always fun. Also Norb and Joe Schiopucci who coached Wilcox Tech out of the same town were best friends until Joe threw a couple zebras out there who homed us to death, they didn't talk for 5-6 years after that game, maybe more. Good ol days.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

In youth basketball it doesn’t work and just makes you look like a cokkboy.

Great point. It's almost the opposite in youth sports. I've coached middle school basketball at the private school where I teach for eight years and by this point I know almost all the refs who work our games. Refs aren't perfect, but if I notice, for example, that the other team is spending more than three seconds in the paint or getting away with moving picks, I'll just talk with the ref and check in whether s/he has noticed this in a calm, even way. More often than not, the refs will notice what I point out and then make the call.

The way the coach act usually directly correlates with how the team acts. Respectful coach who talks to the ref when there are discrepancies, then the kids are usually very respectful and have great sportsmanship. Coach barks at the ref at every mishap and then kids usually act like twerps.

I treat it almost as a culture thing. In fact, I've even asked refs to T-up my players if they complain too much.

 

[M.S.G.]

I've coached high school ball for a long time, while I can't speak to the college level I can say it's a 50/50 thing for me.

You do tend to know all the refs after a while, and you can develop working relationships with them, but (in my case) you can also develop working animosity with them.

After I got T'd by a guy I have seeeeeeeeeeerious beef with stemming from an AAU program his father runs, that I left to coach a better program. We carried out a 30 second staredown that would have made Dan Hurley proud.

I know it has nothing to do with the question at hand, I just really can't stand the little weasel.

 

[temery]

My only argument with a ref was in a state semi final. The ref/umpire called my player for a foot fault, then gave him a warning for questioning the call.

They were still warming up. The match hadn't start.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

Baseball manager ejection>B-ball coach Tech/ejection IMO

It’s interesting how this works across sports. In baseball there’s no team penalty for being tossed. Soccer- coach can get a card or removed but no real penalty. Football can get you a 10-15 yard penalty which could alter a game depending on the situation. But basketball may have the biggest penalty with free throw and possession which can definitely affect the outcome of a game. Ironically, it may have the biggest positive impact in basketball as well if done correctly (player energy, ref mind games, etc)

 

[uchuskies2009]

Speaking from personal experience working games, I wouldn't say it influences me to get "make up" calls, but occasionally, it will get me to make sure that I'm not really missing what the coach claims we aren't calling. I've found that more times than not, if you actually address the coach in a professional manner and honestly explain that you may have missed it, or don't have the same vantage point as he/she, the technical can be avoided by talking the coach down a bit. Some don't want to hear any part of it, and that's when the T's start flying.

And for those that love to complain about how bad the officials are, I'd encourage you to seek out your local officiating board and sign up. The travel middle school and high school level game moves at a very high pace, and the officials never have the same vantage point as you do up in the stands. Standing on the court, and not having the luxury of instant replay, makes it a lot harder than you would think. Yes, there are definitely some officials who lack the training and get in over their head, but constant berating from ignorant parents doesn't help fix the problem. The statistics will show you that the average age of officials (all sports) is about 42 (was 20 in 1976 for comparison). If parents/coaches keep running off the younger, newer officials because they don't want to deal with their crap for $20-$30 a game, there won't be any officials left to cover all of the games. Then what? A game without officials is just a scrimmage...

Sorry for the rant, I take this stuff personal.

 

[Improviser]

I've coached high school ball for a long time, while I can't speak to the college level I can say it's a 50/50 thing for me.

You do tend to know all the refs after a while, and you can develop working relationships with them, but (in my case) you can also develop working animosity with them.

After I got T'd by a guy I have seeeeeeeeeeerious beef with stemming from an AAU program his father runs, that I left to coach a better program. We carried out a 30 second staredown that would have made Dan Hurley proud.

I know it has nothing to do with the question at hand, I just really can't stand the little weasel.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

My only argument with a ref was in a state semi final. The ref/umpire called my player for a foot fault, then gave him a warning for questioning the call.

They were still warming up. The match hadn't start.

Haha!

The only time I truly got heated was in the fourth quarter and we were down by 1 with 4 seconds to go. They missed a shot, we secured the defensive rebound and I tried calling a time out but the ref "didn't hear me call time out". I incredulously responded with "what coach WOULDN'T call a timeout in that situation!" Once the game was over, he apologized to me, we moved on and we've had a good relationship since.

 

[HuskyFich]

Riding the refs is essentially the equivalence of being a used car salesman.

people think they’re slimy, no good, annoying, irritable etc.

but damn, it’s effective.