Players adjusting to refs’ calls

By Gary Bedore     Dec 27, 2000

Journal-World File Photo
Kansas coach Roy Williams has been "pretty pleased" with officials this season. Refs have been urged to clean up rough play inside the paint.

Officiating looks easy.

It is not easy, says Kansas University men’s basketball coach Roy Williams, who, on occasion, claps his hands and screams at the guys in the striped shirts with the fury of a Kansas tornado.

“I have officiated a lot of basketball myself. I know how difficult it is,” noted Williams, who had various odd jobs during his younger years in North Carolina to pay the rent. “I think I have good rapport with officials. I really do not want to talk to them during a game.

“The perfect game to me is to say hello and never speak to them the rest of the night.”

Of course, it rarely works out that way.

“The most frustrated I get,” Williams said, “is when the other coach continually harps, harps, harps on every call. Human nature makes me feel I’ve got to harp some, too.”

Several coaches have been ranting and raving more than usual this season as players and refs alike are learning to adjust to an emphasis on cleaning up rough play inside.

Officials were instructed by the Williams-led NCAA basketball rules committee to enforce existing rules about play in the paint. Mugging the hooking of arms to gain position and forearms to the back on the inside would no longer be tolerated.

Refs who fail to abide by the new rules will be penalized by not being allowed to work NCAA Tournament contests.

So far, Williams says the refs deserve passing grades for their attempts to bring skill and not thuggery back to basketball.

As of last week, six teams were averaging more than 90 points per game.

“The perfect game to me is to say hello and never speak to them the rest of the night.”

KU coach Roy Williams

A year ago, Duke averaged 88 points a game to lead the country.

As of last week, 20 teams were hitting 50 percent or more of their shots, compared to one team a year ago.

Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma State of the Big 12 ranked third, seventh and ninth, respectively, in field-goal percentage. KU is hitting 53 percent of its attempts.

“I have been pretty pleased,” said Williams, who emphasized he was speaking as a member of the rules committee, rather than as a coach, lest he be penalized for discussing officiating.

“I think the officials have been doing a better job of that (cleaning up rough stuff). I myself have not been involved in any game where it’s been ridiculously physical. I’ve been involved in several of them over the last three to four years where you couldn’t make a cut, couldn’t do anything without somebody chesting up and pushing you with a forearm. I hope we as coaches, players, supervisors and officials will keep working at it.”

It’s a passion of Williams to clean up the game.

“We continually try to push to be more consistent,” Williams said, noting officials have also been “doing a pretty good job on calling hand checking of guards.”

“I do hope at the end of the year you will see points have gone up a little bit and field-goal percentage up a little bit.”

The Jayhawks were tooted for an amazing 30 fouls last Saturday, but still won at Ohio State, 69-68.

“I think what we are going to see if this is continued is the number of free throws would decrease because kids don’t want to foul out and coaches don’t want their best players to foul out,” Williams said. “Coaches and players will find some way to stop making fouls and not just hope the officials stop calling them.

“I think there is a huge burden on officials to call rules the way they are written and a burden on players and coaches not to complain the way the game is called. Change your behavior is the best way to stop (fouling).”

Williams is against adding a foul and disqualifying players after six, not the current five, fouls.

“I think a sixth foul would be a terrible rule,” Williams said. “The five foul limit to me is the best deterrent to stop fouling there is. If you see a march to the free throw line every night, that coach is dumb and the players are dumb. If you give them more fouls or let them have free throw and the ball out of bounds, I think it makes it worse. The biggest deterrent is the fact you can foul out.”

KU forward Nick Collison was one of five Jayhawks to pick up four fouls at Ohio State.

“Early on it seemed it was all everyone was talking about,” Collison said of not fouling inside while gaining position. “I’ve been doing a better job of not fouling but I still pick up a lot of ticky tack fouls. I’ve got to keep working on doing a better job inside.”

Center Eric Chenowith, who also had four fouls versus OSU in 19 minutes, says communication with refs is helpful.

“Being a senior I get to talk to the officials before the game,” Chenowith said. “I’ll ask ’em to tell me the first two trips what I’m doing wrong. They’ve been great about communicating with the players.”

The bottom line on officiating?

“You want them to be honest and work as hard as they can … let them do their job and I’ll do mine,” Williams said.

Tonight, Arizona State’s women’s team will play No. 2 Tennessee outdoors at Bank One Ballpark, home of baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Williams was asked on his weekly radio show if he’d consider playing Arizona outside next year in Tucson, Ariz.

“I know we wouldn’t do it here. It’d have to be an awfully nice day,” Williams quipped. “Tucson they’d have a better chance this time of year. I have coached a game in Honolulu in the old gym there on the military base where all the sides are open. That’s as close as I’ve come to playing one outside.”

Assistant sports editor Gary Bedore can be reached at 832-7186.


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