“Hey Ref, You Suck” - Jim Malachowski

“Hey Ref, You Suck” - Jim Malachowski

Not more than a second after the whistle blew for the foul, a loud voice bellowed across the court, “Hey, ref, you suck!” Most people hate referees, but competitive sports, from youth to professional games, cannot be played without them.

 

Big difference in how basketball games are officiated

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There is a strange dynamic that takes place with officiating during a basketball game. In some games, the officiating crew calls the game very tightly, continually blowing their whistles for seemingly marginal fouls. In other games, the referees “let them play,” which leads to more physicality. The first URI vs UMass game was called tightly, with a total of 47 fouls called. For comparison, in this year’s URI/PC game, there were only 33 fouls called.

 

A former player’s perspective on officiating

Getting current players to comment on officiating is impossible as they are instructed to avoid the topic. I turned to a former player to get his take on officiating, and we had an interesting conversation. Abu Bakr played basketball for the Rams in the early seventies. He was a very physical player and a beast on the boards. His average of 9.1 rebounds per game places him fourth on URI’s all-time rebounding list. In February 1972, his Ram team beat Providence College 77-75 in Keaney Gym.

That Friar team included Marvin Barnes and Ernie DiGregorio. I was sitting in the student section bleachers of Keaney for the game. I distinctly remember down the stretch, URI’s backup point guard, Tommy Adams, dribbled down the court on a semi-break, split two defenders at the foul line, and drove to the hoop for a layup to help ice the victory.

Bakr remembers the play and quite a bit about going head-to-head with Barnes. He described two defensive plays he made that tied back to officiating. The first was blocking one of Barnes’ shots. A few minutes later, DiGregorio drove to the hoop, and Bakr blocked his shot as well, sending the ball into the student section. To everyone’s dismay, a whistle was heard, and the ref called goaltending. Bakr insists it was a clean block, and if anything, his block of Barnes’ shot was closer to goaltending. Fifty years later, Bakr still disagrees with the call. That’s what a ref’s call can do to you.

 

Marvin and Ernie playing in URI’s Tootell gym

Interestingly, Bakr said during the summer, the PC team would come down to URI for informal scrimmages. These games took place on the court in Tootell and were set up by the players through a phone call. They were held without coaches or referees—just the boys playing ball.

 

 

Comments on officiating

When Bakr played, there were two-person officiating crews. He believes moving to a three-person crew is an improvement, saying, “Six eyes are better than four.” Further, “Officials are now more comfortable huddling after a disputed call, talking things through, understanding another ref had a better angle and accepting a reversed call.” He related this seldom happened when he played.

Another big difference in officiating today is the refs are much more willing to speak with and explain what they saw to players and coaches. Bakr said, “When I played, the referees did not feel they needed to communicate with you. They had the final word and had a bit of arrogance.”

 

Can coaches influence officials?

There are coaches, like the foot-stomping, face-contorting Dan Hurley, who do not believe their teams have ever committed a foul. Human nature makes it difficult for anyone to remain unbiased when under constant public ridicule. A few coaches are adept at working a referee without ridicule. I have officiated high school football for 40 years and can tell you from personal experience that skillfully working an official can put a referee in a mindset where that coach may get the benefit of the doubt on a future call.

Like coaches, there are officials who think they never make a mistake. When interviewing David Fuchs and Jeremy Foumena for a previous article, I told them I was a high school football official. Foumena asked if I was a good official. When I said no, both players burst out laughing. Foumena said every official he knows believes they are the best referee on the planet. I can attest that some officials I have worked with think they’ve never missed or made a mistake on a call.

 

Video replays

Replays prove otherwise. Bakr believes video replays are helpful in many ways, including his opinion that officials can “Make calls more instinctively and not question themselves because they know replays could make the correction if they got it wrong.” He believes officials don’t take it personally if they get overturned.

URI benefited greatly from video replay on the night the Ryan Center opened. USC came to town for what turned out to be a wild game. With the clock winding down in overtime, the Rams Dustin Hellenga hit a 15-footer for a 73-71 lead. Just after the ball went in, a buzzer sounded. As USC inbounded the ball, the players on the URI bench ran onto the court, mobbing Hellenga, believing the game was over. The buzzer that sounded was the shot clock, not the game clock, as there were 2.5 seconds left. USC’s Desmon Farmer got the ball in the frontcourt and hit a three-point shot. USC ran off the court into the locker room, celebrating along the way, believing they had won.

 

A critical call is reversed, and a non-call stands

The sellout crowd in the Ryan Center sat in stunned silence as Coach Jim Baron complained the shot was late. The head official decided to use a new rule that allowed officials to review television replays at the end of games and overtime. Game administration did not have its own video monitors at the time, so the referees had to use the broadcast crew’s TV monitor.

Our very own Abu Bakr was part of the game's on-air broadcast team. He quickly watched the replay and waited with a smile as the referees walked over to the press table. Bakr was the first and only person in the building who knew what the call would be after the video review. I am told it was very clear that the ball had not left the shooter’s hand when the red light on top of the backboard, signifying the end of the game, came on. The officials ruled the basket did not count, the game was over, and URI won.

USC coach Henry Bibby raced back to the court and pleaded that a technical foul should be called on URI for having its bench players all over the court as the game was going on. The officials did not accept Bibby’s pleas or call a technical foul.

As I walked out of the Ryan Center that night with the other jubilant fans the fireworks show began. The arena’s three towers, modeled after lighthouses, reflected the colors and glow of the pyrotechnics.

It was a magical night, all made possible by a referee’s non-call that went URI’s way.

 

A bad call costs a game

With under two minutes left in this year’s Brown game, a Brown player was just outside the three-point line in front of the press tables. He received a pass, dribbled twice, picked up the ball, hesitated for two seconds, then dribbled to the hoop and scored. Three people sitting near the press table yelled “double dribble” to no avail. URI lost by two.

 

Calls eventually even out

In my mind, there is a two-column ledger that tracks good calls and bad calls. The magnitude of the call has weight. The bad call that cost the Brown game does not compare with the good non-call that benefited URI at the end of the USC game. If the saying is true that calls eventually even out, URI must suffer through a considerable number of bad calls before the ledger is balanced, as that USC call carries a lot of weight and is still tipping the scales!