Rich: Officiating a Concern for Auriemma

[UConnCat]

Geno seems to always express his concerns about officiating on the eve of the final four. This year his comments are just a little more pointed:

“Unfortunately, I watched the Baylor-Notre Dame game (Monday) and that was a travesty,’’ Auriemma said referring to the high number fouls called, many of them of the questionable variety. “But I think that’s probably something that everybody’s going to have to deal with at the Final Four. Whoever plays Notre Dame just has to understand you’re going to be in foul trouble. For some unknown reason they seem to get everybody in foul trouble. I’ve always said the officiating’s awfully key.

http://blog.ctnews.com/elliott/2014/04/04/officiating-a-concern-for-auriemma/

 

[MilfordHusky]

Coach agrees with us.

Even up, we beat anyone. I hope we're able to play even up.

 

[msf22b]

Advance lobbying perhaps?

 

[Icebear]

Advance lobbying perhaps?

Think of it as a vaccination and/or inoculation.

 

[ScarlettB]

I find Geno's comments a bit ingenious. The UConn players rarely get called for fouls. IMO, that doesn't mean they didn't commit the foul, it just means they didn't get called for the foul. For example, Steph Dolson is guilty of many moving screens that don't get called. I don't think ND gets fouls called against the opposing players unfairly anymore than UConn does. IMO, both teams get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the officials calling the game. Most, if not all, other teams have a legitimate gripe about the calls from the officials. if they are playing UConn or ND.

 

[hussybulldog]

I find Geno's comments a bit ingenious. The UConn players rarely get called for fouls. IMO, that doesn't mean they didn't commit the foul, it just means they didn't get called for the foul. For example, Steph Dolson is guilty of many moving screens that don't get called. I don't think ND gets fouls called against the opposing players unfairly anymore than UConn does. IMO, both teams get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the officials calling the game. Most, if not all, other teams have a legitimate gripe about the calls from the officials. if they are playing UConn or ND.

Have you actually watched that game, ScarlettB? There were a good varieties of false calls that resulted in momentum shift (or non-shift), a good example is a clean block by Robertson called foul..there are a few others, like a couple of Sims' that could be non-calls. It totally change the dynamics of the game and possibly the outcome of the game. Yes, Dolson got away with a few calls as well. It should not happen.

 

[NVUConnFan]

Let'm play!

 

[ScarlettB]

Have you actually watched that game, ScarlettB? There were a good varieties of false calls that resulted in momentum shift (or non-shift), a good example is a clean block by Robertson called foul..there are a few others, like a couple of Sims' that could be non-calls. It totally change the dynamics of the game and possibly the outcome of the game. Yes, Dolson got away with a few calls as well. It should not happen.

Yes I actually watch the games and my opinion hasn't changed.

 

[doggydaddy]

I find Geno's comments a bit ingenious. The UConn players rarely get called for fouls. IMO, that doesn't mean they didn't commit the foul, it just means they didn't get called for the foul. For example, Steph Dolson is guilty of many moving screens that don't get called. I don't think ND gets fouls called against the opposing players unfairly anymore than UConn does. IMO, both teams get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the officials calling the game. Most, if not all, other teams have a legitimate gripe about the calls from the officials. if they are playing UConn or ND.

Really? Many moving screens?

It's occasional. And more a idea promoted by the announcers. Overstated.

UConn does not play the "flop" game that many teams do. And they just don't foul as much.

 

[doggydaddy]

Yes I actually watch the games and my opinion hasn't changed.

Considering you are an admitted ND fan, it's not surprising. But you are way off on that one. There were game changing foul calls in that game. A real shame.

 

[UConnCat]

I find Geno's comments a bit ingenious. The UConn players rarely get called for fouls. IMO, that doesn't mean they didn't commit the foul, it just means they didn't get called for the foul. For example, Steph Dolson is guilty of many moving screens that don't get called. I don't think ND gets fouls called against the opposing players unfairly anymore than UConn does. IMO, both teams get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the officials calling the game. Most, if not all, other teams have a legitimate gripe about the calls from the officials. if they are playing UConn or ND.

What an original idea: Stef Dolson is guilty of moving screens. It's annoying beyond words. Dolson sets more solid screens for her teammates than any player in WCBB. She started off her career at UConn with poor technique but has worked to improve that substantially during her career. Does she still commit the occasional violation? Sure, any player who sets a many screens as she does is going to do that. Does she commit "many moving screens that don't get called?" No. It's BS. It's a reputation that became popular among certain message board posters when she was a freshman and has continued throughout her career regardless of its accuracy.

Rutgers would be a better offensive basketball team if its post players worked as hard as Dolson to help their teammates get open.

 

[ffg53]

Geno seems to always express his concerns about officiating on the eve of the final four. This year his comments are just a little more pointed:

“Unfortunately, I watched the Baylor-Notre Dame game (Monday) and that was a travesty,’’ Auriemma said referring to the high number fouls called, many of them of the questionable variety. “But I think that’s probably something that everybody’s going to have to deal with at the Final Four. Whoever plays Notre Dame just has to understand you’re going to be in foul trouble. For some unknown reason they seem to get everybody in foul trouble. I’ve always said the officiating’s awfully key.

http://blog.ctnews.com/elliott/2014/04/04/officiating-a-concern-for-auriemma/

Irish Catholic refs afraid of God, maybe? I jest. Kind of.

 

[ScarlettB]

Really? Many moving screens?

It's occasional. And more a idea promoted by the announcers. Overstated.

UConn does not play the "flop" game that many teams do. And they just don't foul as much.

I agree that UConn does not flop as much, but the UConn players have a lot of body contact that doesn't get called. I know Geno teaches them how to go up straight (with their hands), but the do have a lot of body contact.

 

[UConnCat]

I agree that UConn does not flop as much, but the UConn players have a lot of body contact that doesn't get called. I know Geno teaches them how to go up straight (with their hands), but the do have a lot of body contact.

No they don't.

 

[doggydaddy]

I agree that UConn does not flop as much, but the UConn players have a lot of body contact that doesn't get called. I know Geno teaches them how to go up straight (with their hands), but the do have a lot of body contact.

Come on, you are really reaching here.

It's been consistent all year with the number of fouls called against UConn.

You've changed the discussion from how many calls are made on the opponents (excessive fouls called on Baylor) to not enough calls are made on the team where you think they foul more (UConn in every game). Totally different issues.

 

[ScarlettB]

What an original idea: Stef Dolson is guilty of moving screens. It's annoying beyond words. Dolson sets more solid screens for her teammates than any player in WCBB. She started off her career at UConn with poor technique but has worked to improve that substantially during her career. Does she still commit the occasional violation? Sure, any player who sets a many screens as she does is going to do that. Does she commit "many moving screens that don't get called?" No. It's BS. It's a reputation that became popular among certain message board posters when she was a freshman and has continued throughout her career regardless of its accuracy.

Rutgers would be a better offensive basketball team if its post players worked as hard as Dolson to help their teammates get open.

I actually love Dolson's game, but she commit fouls with moving screens. Ask Rebecca Lobo and I bet she will agree with me. How RU plays has nothing to do with this.

 

[doggydaddy]

I actually love Dolson's game, but she commit fouls with moving screens. Ask Rebecca Lobo and I bet she will agree with me. How RU plays has nothing to do with this.

Lobo was the specific announcer I was talking about. She is wrong. As Cat said, she used to do it early in her career, but she sets great screens now.

How UConn plays defense has nothing to do with how ND gets calls when they have the ball, yet that didn't stop you from bringing them up.

 

[ScarlettB]

Lobo was the specific announcer I was talking about. She is wrong. As Cat said, she used to do it early in her career, but she sets great screens now.

How UConn plays defense has nothing to do with how ND gets calls when they have the ball, yet that didn't stop you from bringing them up.

I love you guys. You are all so passionate about your team. I have watched a lot of UConn game and have observed moving screens by Steph that were not called. I don't think Rebecca is wrong, I agree with her. I also think that some of Stewart's and Dolson's blocks were fouls that were't called. So what. It doesn't matter what I think. It only matters what the refs think. Y'all have the refs on your side.

 

[JoePgh]

I finally watched a replay of the ND-Baylor game, and my conclusion about the officiating is somewhat different than most of what has been expressed. Specfically:

• I do agree that the referees in that game seemed overly inclined to fault the offense and favor the defense in block/charge situations. This worked to the disadvantage of Sims on one important occasion, taking away a basket plus a free throw attempt around the 14:45 mark of the 2nd half when the game was close. But Notre Dame got called for many questionable charges also.
• I do NOT agree that the refs were favoring ND in their calls or that they were intimidated by the ND home crowd. At one point early in the second half, when the game was close, ND had been called for 5 fouls in the half and Baylor only 1.
• The one case where they were clearly inconsistent favored Baylor. Sims was dribbling and plowed into an ND defender near the end of the game, when she had 4 fouls already. She also used her elbow on the defender. The ref started to call a charge and then suddenly switched to a block call, thereby keeping Sims from fouling out with about 3 or 4 minutes left in the game. By the standards used up to that point, and probably according to the rules, that play was clearly a charge.
• Just as Stef sometimes commits moving screens (she does, but not that often), Sims often uses her free hand while dribbling to create space against her defender. In the Baylor-UConn game back in January, the announcers criticized the refs in that game for calling her for that foul, which they considered to be ticky-tack. On Sims's third foul against Notre Dame this week, she did exactly the same thing, got the same call, and the refs got the same criticism from the announcers. In my opinion, the refs are right to call this, and the announcers are wrong. It is a foul per the rulebook, and it's a point of emphasis in the game this year. Odyssey needs to get out of that habit or she deserves the fouls that she gets for it.
• I did not notice any obvious flopping by either team in Monday night's game, certainly not like what Louisville was doing in their AAC final against UConn, or what Mackenzie Robertson did in the January Baylor-UConn game.
• I think UConn really does foul much less than most teams. The blocks are mostly done with arms straight up and not in motion and are therefore legal, even if there is contact against the shooter's hand or arm during the block. (That would be contact initiated by the shooter.) The one time in the TAMU game when Stef brought her arms down during a block, she was called for a foul (correctly).
• By the same token, I think that Notre Dame properly draws more fouls on its opponents than most other teams, simply because penetration is such a big part of its offense, and they do it skillfully. (ND drives into zone defenses much more frequently, and more successfully, than UConn does.) I'm sure that Muffitt drills Loyd and McBride on how to drive without charging just as Geno drills his team on playing defense without fouling. The result has been that ND is legitimately good at drawing fouls for the same reason that UConn is legitimately good at defending without fouling. It is too easy to blame the refs for this.
• Over a season, many different referees see the same teams, and the consistency of the results by all of these different officials supports the view that the teams are really playing that way, rather than that there is a conspiracy among numerous officiating teams to give them the same wrong calls. UConn commits fewer fouls per game (over 38 games now) than any team in the country, and ND probably shoots more free throws than any team in the country. Neither is the result of an officiating conspiracy; it's the result of how the teams are coached to play.

 

[hoophuskee]

I find Geno's comments a bit ingenious. The UConn players rarely get called for fouls. IMO, that doesn't mean they didn't commit the foul, it just means they didn't get called for the foul. For example, Steph Dolson is guilty of many moving screens that don't get called. I don't think ND gets fouls called against the opposing players unfairly anymore than UConn does. IMO, both teams get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the officials calling the game. Most, if not all, other teams have a legitimate gripe about the calls from the officials. if they are playing UConn or ND.

I disagree with this big time. Dolson doesn't move any more than any other center. I believe your statement is that of bias/bitterness. So for an unbias fan like you UCONN gets away with fouls and Dolson is among the most aggregious of moving picks? And it's just a miracle that Baylor got T and all those fouls were called? - And ND playing in a foul-fest was just a HUGE coincidence? That was just rare instance of ND getting the benefit as well?

And it was all just a big coincidence that last year on our 3 losses to ND - the 1st loss KML and Dolson get 2 fouls early in first game of 1st half. KML could only play 10 minutes. Dolson picks up her 2nd with 9 minutes left in 1st half. So we're in FOUL TROUBLE. How dare Geno say what he just said about the refs!! And the foul called on Dolson with 32 seconds left- a complete joke of a call in game 2. A HUGE call on an incidental dribbling-the-ball-up-the-court (it wasn't like ND was trapping- they weren't) with ND down by one. How dare Geno say what he just said about the refs!! Then in game 3 KML, Harltey and Jefferson miraculously all had 2 fouls in 1st half- we're down by 9. So we're in FOUL TROUBLE AGAIN. How dare Geno say what he just said about the refs!!

A classic example which is a huge travesty was just look at the comparison of Natalie Novosel vs Tiffany Hayes when it came to dratf day. In their sr years Natalie took 299 free throws. That is an average of 7.67 per game! While TiffanyHayes sr year she got to ft line on average about 4.66 times. Natalie is now out of the WNBA who was cut before the season started. She was a 1st round draft pick while Hayes - in the WNBA is playing very well and was a 2nd round pick and gets to the lne pretty well. Anyone with ANY sort of fairness could see that Hayes can get to the line a lot more- but how these college refs call the game- they focus on that crappy call for example on dolson with 32 seconds left at ND. or as many of suggest- ND flings their bodies into opponents like Novosel would. In the pros unless you are a star- you aren't getting that garbage. Also. do you realize that Novosel got to the ft line 31 times in our 3 losses in 2011-2012? THIS is from a wing that got drafted in 1st round but was cut without playing ONE WNBA game. And YOU don't think ND has gotten the benefit of calls vs UCONN? If ND did get the benefit then Geno has a right to speak out and be concerned, doesn't he? What's he being paid for, otherwise?

Another example is look at Maya's sr year. The 4th time we played ND - Dolson picked up two fouls in 1st half - and then a 3rd one within 1st mintue of 2nd half. A few minutes later we had to sub-out Dolson. At least one of those 3 fouls if not 2 were ticky-tack a joke. Foul trouble AGAIN. I've just given YOU fexamples of foul trouble we've had vs ND in four of our losses plus a few games Novosel is being treated like she was Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant . But according to YOU - Geno shouldn't speak? In that 2nd half of this game - Maya's last game- we wound up getting annihilated on the glass. The Dolson foul trouble killed us.

 

[UcMiami]

About half of Dolson's fouls for 'moving screens' occur on pick and rolls where she is in the process of the roll, and the player she is 'fouling' is actually now defending her as her defender is on the ball handler. The brain dead ref sees her moving toward the basket and the defender on her back and decides that is a moving screen.
Uconn plays straight up defense and they move there feet very well - better than pretty much any other team in WCBB, and two of their three shot blockers have very long arms and good jumping skill so can block without being into the players body. Stef doesn't jump much but she does generally stay vertical and not come down with her hands and she too has very good feet. And their guards are very quick, move their feet, and especially Moriah, do not reach in with their hand going down, but rather with their hand coming up from the floor - hand down contact the arm first and then the ball, hand up contact the ball with no contact on the arm. That is why they do not get called for many fouls.
ND - they flop on defense, and jump into defenders on offense in an attempt to get fouls called. They exaggerate any contact that occurs on both ends and it is not pretty. Generally it works to their advantage but I do not like it and do not respect their players for doing it. (Baylor certainly aint no saint, either!)
It reminds me of Renaldo in european football - brilliant player - but a consummate 'diver' as well - detracts from his stature.

 

[hoophuskee]

I finally watched a replay of the ND-Baylor game, and my conclusion about the officiating is somewhat different than most of what has been expressed. Specfically:

• 
  [ ]I do agree that the referees in that game seemed overly inclined to fault the offense and favor the defense in block/charge situations. This worked to the disadvantage of Sims on one important occasion, taking away a basket plus a free throw attempt around the 14:45 mark of the 2nd half when the game was close. But Notre Dame got called for many questionable charges also.
  [ ]I do NOT agree that the refs were favoring ND in their calls or that they were intimidated by the ND home crowd. At one point early in the second half, when the game was close, ND had been called for 5 fouls in the half and Baylor only 1.
  [ ]The one case where they were clearly inconsistent favored Baylor. Sims was dribbling and plowed into an ND defender near the end of the game, when she had 4 fouls already. She also used her elbow on the defender. The ref started to call a charge and then suddenly switched to a block call, thereby keeping Sims from fouling out with about 3 or 4 minutes left in the game. By the standards used up to that point, and probably according to the rules, that play was clearly a charge.
  [ ]Just as Stef sometimes commits moving screens (she does, but not that often), Sims often uses her free hand while dribbling to create space against her defender. In the Baylor-UConn game back in January, the announcers criticized the refs in that game for calling her for that foul, which they considered to be ticky-tack. On Sims's third foul against Notre Dame this week, she did exactly the same thing, got the same call, and the refs got the same criticism from the announcers. In my opinion, the refs are right to call this, and the announcers are wrong. It is a foul per the rulebook, and it's a point of emphasis in the game this year. Odyssey needs to get out of that habit or she deserves the fouls that she gets for it.
  [ ]I did not notice any obvious flopping by either team in Monday night's game, certainly not like what Louisville was doing in their AAC final against UConn, or what Mackenzie Robertson did in the January Baylor-UConn game.
  [ ]I think UConn really does foul much less than most teams. The blocks are mostly done with arms straight up and not in motion and are therefore legal, even if there is contact against the shooter's hand or arm during the block. (That would be contact initiated by the shooter.) The one time in the TAMU game when Stef brought her arms down during a block, she was called for a foul (correctly).
  [ ]By the same token, I think that Notre Dame properly draws more fouls on its opponents than most other teams, simply because penetration is such a big part of its offense, and they do it skillfully. (ND drives into zone defenses much more frequently, and more successfully, than UConn does.) I'm sure that Muffitt drills Loyd and McBride on how to drive without charging just as Geno drills his team on playing defense without fouling. The result has been that ND is legitimately good at drawing fouls for the same reason that UConn is legitimately good at defending without fouling. It is too easy to blame the refs for this.
  [ ]Over a season, many different referees see the same teams, and the consistency of the results by all of these different officials supports the view that the teams are really playing that way, rather than that there is a conspiracy among numerous officiating teams to give them the same wrong calls. UConn commits fewer fouls per game (over 38 games now) than any team in the country, and ND probably shoots more free throws than any team in the country. Neither is the result of an officiating conspiracy; it's the result of how the teams are coached to play.

The little I saw - the turning points were the 3rd and 4th fouls on Baylor's Sims. According to Rebecca that (or 1 of them turned the game) turned the game. According to Kara one of those critical calls was a play she makes all the time in the WNBA - which wound up causing the coach to lose her cool and get the T - which SIms get her 4th foul and they lose possession. I don't think you are correctly assessing calls overall vs. turning point calls. You seem to be putting them all in the same bucket. With four fouls on Sims - the possible 5th she got away with --is irrelevant. For example. Baylor is down by more than they should have, thus deperation would be more likely late in the game. She's going to try to force more. And I'd love to see that 5th foul on Davis again but on TV it was a tough angle. I didn't see much of the game- I just know all the fouls called - the refs took over the game. And whenver they do that- 99% of the time THEY ARE WRONG to do so.

The little I saw I agree with Reebecca's and Kara's post game observations (which I did see) of which Rebecca's cited the turning point of the crappy call on Sims (her 3rd or 4th or both) and Kara seemed to agree. I did turn off the game a short time later after Sims 4th- didn't feel they had a chance to overcome all that with Sims having the 4 fouls. So I agree with reebecca and Kara here.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

ScarlettB - -If you really watch the games, I mean 5 to 6 a week across the country, you'll see that there is moving screens on about every play! The refs just pick and choose which ones they call which really affect the games! If they called the moving screens they would force coaches to teach them right and pause when setting the screen! All the WBB refs stink!

 

[Wbbfan1]

I suspect which ever team you root for, gets called for more fouls then they deserve and the teams they're playing and lose to don't. You comment about UConn not getting called for enough fouls, yet don't comment that ND either does or does not. Tells me you're not a fan of UConn and probably hope they lose.

Yes I actually watch the games and my opinion hasn't changed.

 

[Tonyc]

Im glad he said it. Because IMO it could be a issue. By bringing it up it will make everybody Beware. Hopefully they will let them play.

 

[diggerfoot]

About half of Dolson's fouls for 'moving screens' occur on pick and rolls where she is in the process of the roll, and the player she is 'fouling' is actually now defending her as her defender is on the ball handler. The brain dead ref sees her moving toward the basket and the defender on her back and decides that is a moving screen.

Excellent point on the moving screens AFTER contact, as part of the pick and roll. I challenge ScarlettB to observe carefully (Lobo as well, for that matter) as to whether Dolson moves into or after the contact rather than regurgitate conventional wisdom. Technically it is still at times a moving screen, but not the sort that provides an advantage as when moving into contact.