Welcome to the MACBOA Newsletter

The MACBOA Newsletter is a periodic publication of the Mid-Atlantic College Basketball Officials Association (MACBOA). MACBOA provides basketball officiating services to several colleges and universities in the Maryland - Washington, DC area. The Association has a membership of approximately 225 men and women officials. Our membership consist of men and women who work Divisions I, II and III basketball. We pride our Association on providing quality and professional service.

The usefulness and survival of this newsletter is going to depend on the participation of subscribers and professionals alike. Please help by submitting personal stories, experiences, and articles of general interest to the MACBOA community.

Online subscriptions to MACBOA Newsletter are free and currently there are over 460 subscribers to the MACBOA Newsletter throughout the country. The MACBOA Newsletter is made possible by the kind support of our sponsors. I thank our sponsors for making the newsletter possible. Please visit our web site at http://macboa.org. As always, please visit our sponsors and thank them for keeping MACBOA operational.

Donnee L. Gray, Supervisor of Officials
dgray@macboa.org

In this issue:

• Remarks from the Supervisor of Officials
• Rule Book Revision
• Link to NCAA Men's & Women's Memo/Bulletin
• Directions to Baltimore City CC Game Site
• Official's Play of the Day: WIN a PRIZE
• Contributing Article (Al Battista)
• Contributing Article (Ike Relacion)
• Member News
• Contributing Writers/Volunteers Needed

Donnee L. Gray, Supervisor of Officials' items:
To Officials, ADs, and Head Coaches:

Officials: Some crew chiefs are not contacting their crew prior to games. This is part of the crew chief responsibility to ensure that the crew arrives on time and participates in the pre-game conference.

Additionally, crew chiefs, please remember to mail your game reports to the MACBOA office within 7-days of the game. If (and only if) there was a problem in the game (i.e., technical foul, ejection), the game report and ejection report should be sent via fax immediately. You should also call me to discuss the ejection within 24 hours of the game. Please do not fax a game report unless it falls in this category.

ADs and Head Coaches: Please make sure you are keeping the MACBOA office apprised of staff and telephone number changes. It is extremely important that we have accurate information in order to communicate in an effective and timely manner.

There have been several reports from officials concerning inexperienced staff operating the game clocks and keeping the game books. It is the schools responsibility to ensure that all table personnel are probably trained and knowledgeable in this area. Failure to have experienced staff can result in game delays and possible game forfeitures. Please be mindful of this, particularly as we enter the second half of the season.

Game cancellations/reschedules: Please review the emergency procedures on the MACBOA web site. The MACBOA office must be notified verbally (i.e., actually speak to someone ã not leaving a message on a recorder), at least 6 hours prior to a scheduled game regarding a cancellation. This must be followed by written notification that can be sent via facsimile to 301-283-6808. Once officials are en route or have arrived at the game site for a scheduled event, the school will be held accountable for payment.

When rescheduling a game, please provide all information in writing.

Link to Current NCAA Men's (1/19/01) & Women's (1/17/01) Memo/Bulletin: http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/basketball/officiating_bulletins/mens/20010119.pdf http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/basketball/officiating_bulletins/womens/20010117.pdf

Rule Book Clarification
In BR-85, sec 12, article 1: Excessive Timeouts may be requested and GRANTED. Then if you read BR-110, Article 4 states: Excessive Timeouts shall NOT be granted.

On page BR-110, it should read "A team shall not be granted excessive timeouts without penalty.

This was a typo and was corrected at the clinics. It will be changed in the rule book next year.

Game Site for Baltimore City Community College:
Games are played at 2901 Liberty Heights Avenue, Baltimore MD, 21215.
Security Office: 410/462-7700, Athletic Director's Office: 410/462-7750 or 8325,
Head Coach: 410/462-8308.

Directions from Washington DC: Take 95-North to Exit 50. Take S. Caton Street for 4.5 miles.
You will pass St. Agnes Hospital on your left in .3 miles. Stay in your left lane, S. Caton turns into S. Hilton Street and then turns into Hilton Parkway (for about 1.5 miles) and then turns into N. Hilton Street. Turn Right onto Liberty heights Avenue. In 2 lights, turn Right into campus and an immediate left. Go down .5 miles to Physical Education facility on your right.

Play of the Day: Make the Call!

Play: A1 has the ball for a throw-in at the division line. A2 is in front court to receive the throw-in, but the pass is errant and A2 reaches out for the ball, it touches A2 and A1's hand, and then the ball enters backcourt. a) A1, or b) A2 enters backcourt and gains control of the ball. What is the call, if any?

Please send your answer to macboa1@aol.com. To be considered you must answer the question in its entirety. Remember to take care of business on administrative matters! The first 2 individuals to correctly answer will be named in the next newsletter.

Contributing Article

Personal Foul / Technical Fouls

Al Battista

Type: Double Personal Foul, Shots: No Shots, Resulting Action: Team in control of ball or in possession of the throw-in gets the ball back. Arrow is not used.

Note: On a double personal foul, there is NO reset of the shot clock and the arrow stays the same (Exception: if one official calls a charge and the another official calls a block, you would use the arrow and reset the shot clock).

Type: Intentional Personal Foul, Shots: 2 shots, Resulting Action: At the spot of the foul, Shot Clock: Reset.

Type: Flagrant Personal Fouls, Shots: 2 shots, Resulting Action: At the spot of the foul Shot Clock: Reset, Note: Offender is disqualified.

Type: Indirect Technical Fouls, Shots: 1 shot, Resulting Action: Point of Interruption. If the indirect foul was against the offensive team, no reset of the shot clock. Shot Clock: Reset the shot clock if the indirect technical was called against the defense. Note: Indirect Technicals are administrative (slapping the backboard, grasping the rim, etc); they do not count toward a player's 5 or the team totals.

Type: Direct Technical Fouls, Shots: 2 shots, Resulting Action: Point of Interruption. If the indirect foul was against the offensive team, no reset of the shot clock. Reset the shot clock if the indirect technical was called against the defense. Note: Direct Technicals are unsporting actions, and they count toward the player's 5 fouls and the team totals.

Type: Dead Ball Contact Technical Fouls, Shots: 2 shots, Resulting Action: Either side of the division line. Note: they are flagrant or intentional. If flagrant, the offender is disqualified. Shot Clock: Reset.

Type: Double Technical Fouls (Direct or Indirect): No Shots, Resulting Action: Point of interruption. Shot Clock: Reset.

Type: Flagrant Double Fouls, No Shots, Resulting Action: Point of Interruption. Shot Clock: Reset.

Type: Flagrant Double Technical Fouls, No Shots, Resulting Action: Point of Interruption. Offenders are disqualified. Shot Clock: Reset

Contributing Article:

The Communication Factor

Ike Relacion

Observe successful officials and determine what makes their games run smoothly. Officiating success encompasses many facets of human relations. With the right preparation, goal-setting and mentoring, officiating success can be attained. The result of working smart, experience and credibility, and learning from every assignment will make you better. How you manage segments of a game is essential for your officiating progress. This includes managing players, coaches, and the table. Let's focus on coaches. Listening is not the absence of talking, but the presence of attention. Listening is not simply hearing, it is understanding. It requires participation, action, and effort. Listening is the glue that holds communication together. And it is absolutely essential to be an effective referee.

Like all communication skills, listening improves quickly with practice and technique. For example, a coach may ask you what you saw on the illegal screen that went against his team. This is a situation warranting more than just non-verbal communication. If a coach approaches you professionally, it is important that you provide a one to two sentence response when appropriate. Again, when asked reasonable questions, reasonable answers may be given. Again, listening well does not mean you agree, it simply means you are trying to understand.

As officials, we communicate through our involvement in the pregame discussion. We typically discuss match-ups, team tendencies, and re-emphasizing the points of emphasis along with any periodic memos and mandates. Discussing those themes should bring consistency and comfort between the members of the crew when plays occur. Just as players and coaches make mistakes, officials are human also. How many times have you been in games that the coach is looking for someone to blame for their team's poor performance? Officials don't miss setting a pick, don't miss lay-ups, and don't miss a defensive or offensive play. The officiating crew is usually the target. Choose your words wisely; your words are always under the microscope a/o microphone. Avoid comments that may belittle a coach.

Demonstrate an open attitude through your non-verbal actions (eye contact, facial expression, posture, vocal tone, inflection, etc). Coaches seem to respect officials that are approachable. Successful officials seem to have the ability to disarm a coach and diffuse a situation ("I blew the call," "I'll do better next time,""I hear you," "You have a point," "You made your point," "I'll look," rather than threats, such as, "You coach and I'll referee," or "Sit down," or worst of all, "Shut up.") Treat every coach with respect and professionalism. When a coach crosses the line of respect and professionalism and is more interested in officiating rather than coaching, use a warning and/or enforce a technical foul. Coaches may "vent", but there needs to be an end point. Make a technical foul just another decision (not an emotion) to better the game!

Member News

Congratulations to Lt. Col. and Mrs. Kenneth Clark and their newborn daughter, Alexis K. Clark.

Congratulations to Angeline Parker and Brian Coe who were recently married.

Congratulations to Tommie Scott, Marilyn Washington, Devon Mays, and Ike Relacion on a recent interview with Columbia Union College's Press office.

E. Lamont Avery has a new pager number: 800-251-8050

Please send in your personal stories, experiences or questions; other readers can reply to you via this newsletter or directly (provide your contact information). Contributions should be sent as e-mail; attachments to e-mail will not be accepted. Please take the time to reply if you can help someone.

Reward, challenge, appreciation, stimulation, writing, reading...rarely thanked or noticed.

These are some of the attributes of the well-hidden job of MACBOA Newsletter Volunteer.

Are you interested in working behind the scenes (screens?) to help get information to members? MACBOA is looking to grow our ranks by a couple of folks and thus, we'resoliciting volunteers.

What do you do? Read postings. Write articles, membership news, coordinate interviews, cultivate sponsor relations, etc. Write e-mail back and forth amongst us to establish communication, and guidance to keep this list as valuable as possible for our membership. Although we're virtual, our presence is sensed, we hope...and appreciated, although rarely acclaimed.

We haven't a job description, nor do we know what knowledge, skills, and abilities are required, but some that will come in handy are:

• having the ability to write
• being thick skinned, not thick headed
• being able to express your opinions, while being open minded
• having at least a free hour or two a week
• caring for the list

Please respond directly by e-mail to: dgray@macboa.org

To cancel your subscription to MACBOA Newsletter, reply to this e-mail with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject Line.

MACBOA Newsletter Information

The MACBOA, INC provides the MACBOA newsletter. MACBOA is a nonprofit organization providing information about membership news. The MACBOA.ORG Newsletter's contents may be quoted and reused as long as attribution is included with the reprinting and/or posting.

Neither MACBOA nor its guest contributors shall be liable or responsible to any person or entity for any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be have been caused, directly or indirectly by the information or ideas contained, suggested, or referenced in this newsletter.

Let us know what you think of the MACBOA E-mail Newsletter. I would like to find out ways we can improve it, ways we can make it more useful to you. Send an e-mail message to macboa1@aol.com - a real person, not an automated response.

Ike Relacion

MACBOA does not share its email lists. We value and respect your privacy.

Please visit our site at: http://www.macboa.org

Return to Home Page MACBOA Post Office Box 98 Bryans Road, MD 20616