Issue 40, February 27, 2003
MACBOA Newsletter

In this Issue:

• Remarks from the Supervisor of Officials: Donnee L. Gray
• We Appreciate Your Kind Generosity!
• Congratulations Tommie Scott!
• Contributing Article: Think Safety: Good Winter Driving Techniques (Ike Relacion)
• Washington Post Article: Prince George’s Community College Expose: College Basketball in the 'Tweener League'
• Membership News
• MACBOA Web Stats
• New MACBOA-logo Fox-40 Classic Whistles
• Submitting Articles for MACBOA Consideration
• MACBOA Volunteers
• Newsletter Contact/Information

The MACBOA Newsletter is a periodic (twice a month during November through March and monthly July through October) 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 200 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.

The MACBOA Newsletter is made possible by the kind support of our sponsors.  We thank our sponsors for making the newsletter and other programs possible. Please visit our web site at http://www.macboa.org.  As always, please visit our sponsors and thank them for keeping MACBOA operational.

Remarks from the Supervisor of Officials: Donnee L. Gray

As we end another successful season, I want to congratulate each of you for your dedication, time, and effort during the 2002-2003 season. As you know, we have survived weather extremes and I want to thank you for working with me and the MACBOA office during the recent past as we assigned and re-assigned crews based on team scheduling and venue changes.

As divisional play heated up, each game was handled with the points of emphasis and sportsmanship in mind. MACBOA provided high level officiating and game management skills during this crucial part of the season.

Post-Season Playoff Information: Officials who are being considered for post-season play-off assignments and Regional Championship assignments have been notified. A combination of Observer ratings, CC evaluations, Coach’s game reports and Supervisor observations were used in the selection of post-season play-off officials. Officials will be assigned based upon the above, their availability, and balance.

OTHER ITEMS:

• Crew Chief selections are on a year-to-year appointment. If you would like to apply for a Crew Chief position, please write a letter of application to me and send your letter of application to the MACBOA office. You should include why you believe you are qualified as well as a list references by May 1, 2003. Selected Crew Chiefs for the 2003-04 season will be required to pass written or oral examinations, be able to show rules knowledge and common sense in handling play situations and administrative matters. While attendance at the Time Out Officiating School is not mandatory, selected Crew Chiefs will be encouraged to participate, meet with the Supervisor of Officials and selected staff.
  
• Officials are reminded to notify the MACBOA office immediately if there is a change of address or phone number. You may e-mail changes by accessing the password protected "Members Only" area of the www.macboa.org web site. Please check the web site for correct addresses, phone numbers and email address.
  
• I am a firm believer in continuing education and training. Although you are not required to attend specific officiating camps/schools, MACBOA staff are encouraged to attend basketball officiating camps/schools in order to stay abreast of rule changes and mechanics updates. If you would like to discuss this matter with me, please contact me.
  
• If you know anyone interested in being considered for MACBOA staff next season, or know of a young official who could benefit from attending camp, please contact or have them contact me at 301-283-6807 or via e-mail at dgray@macboa.org. The Time Out Referee School will be held at The American University (www.american.edu), Washington, D.C. The school/camp is tentatively scheduled for the second weekend in July. The Time Out Referee School includes lectures, demonstrations, films and video viewing of on-court officiating during top-level basketball competition. The staff will work with each attendee individually to provide team and leadership skills. After being observed at Time Out Referee School by various collegiate supervisors, participants of the school have been selected to work in several NCAA and professional leagues/conferences. Further details will follow. Officials returning to the MACBOA staff next season and selected to attend camp will be notified.

We Appreciate Your Kind Generosity!

At the September Clinic, several officials mentioned to Vedia Gray, that they would like to donate their first game fee (or a portion of the game fee) to First Book. If you would still like the donation to be made, please send an e-mail to dgray@macboa.org indicating the amount of the contribution. This amount will be deducted from your check and you will receive a letter of receipt from First Book for tax purposes.

Again, thank you for your support to this fabulous organization. Your contributions will put new books into the hands of many needy children.

Congratulations Tommie Scott!

Please join me in congratulating Tommie Scott who was inducted in the prestigious Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Officials Hall of Fame on February 27, 2003 during the 2003 CIAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament, Raleigh, NC at the Entertainment and Sports Arena. The CIAA Tournament .

Contributing Article: Think Safety: Good Winter Driving Techniques (Ike Relacion)

For your safety, the safety of other travelers, remember to practice these good winter driving techniques.

• Stay a safe distance behind the snowplows. Operators may need to stop or move over to avoid stranded vehicles. Materials/Chemicals are also being spread for your driving safety. Don’t put your life in danger trying to get to your game assignment; act with common sense.
  
• Be aware that ramps, bridges and overpasses may occasionally freeze first.
  
• Be aware of "black ice" (roads that look wet but are actually glazed with ice.)
  
• Move as far away from the centerline of the pavement you safely can when meeting a snowplow on a 2-lane road since blowing snow may obscure the actual width of the plow’s blade.
  
• Remain alert. Don’t try to pass snowplows that are working together in tandem pulling snow in the middle of a divided highway.
  
• Turn your lights on – to see and be seen. Brush the snow off your head lights and tail lights frequently.
  
• Know how your anti-lock brakes work in slippery conditions.
  
• Don’t drive through "white out" conditions caused by plowing of light snow or cross winds. Be patient. Conditions will change so you can travel and pass safely.
  
• Drive well below the posted speed limit and avoid the use of cruise control when snow, ice, freezing rain or sleet is on the pavement. The posted speed limits are intended for normal pavement conditions.
  
• Buckle up!

Washington Post Article: Prince George’s Community College Expose: College Basketball in the 'Tweener League'
(To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com)

College Basketball in the 'Tweener League'
By Bob Levey

Like basketball coaches everywhere, John Wiley Sr. was trying to pump up his team 10 minutes before last Wednesday's game.

He cautioned his players to take only good shots. He urged them to make their free throws. He closed with a little Q and A that the team obviously had heard many times.

"You play defense with your . . . what?" the coach asked.

"Feet!" replied the dozen young men camped in the weight room at Prince George's Community College in Largo.

"Okay, 'PG' on three! Let's go!" the coach said.

"One . . . two . . . three . . . PG!" the team chanted in unison. The players formed a conga line and burst onto the floor of Novak Field House to face the visiting Falcons of Montgomery College-Takoma Park.

This is the moment that every basketball player loves, and all remember. Pure anticipation. Pure exhilaration. Pure strut-your-stuff in front of the roaring crowd.

But at PGCC last Wednesday, the roaring crowd consisted of . . .

Fifty-two people.

Including one sleeping infant.

Eight cheerleaders were on hand, but no one paid much attention to them. There were no scouts in the grandstand, no celebrities in the first three rows dressed to kill, no promotions at halftime sponsored by famous companies. TV and radio were conspicuous by their absence.

The big time, this isn't. In fact, community college basketball has long been known as the "tweener league." That's "tweener" as in somewhere between high school and the glamorous four-year college teams you see on the networks.

Yet an important lesson is being taught -- and learned -- at PGCC and places like it.

If a player needs a second chance, either academically or athletically or both, this is where he'll get it. And if a player gets serious about himself and his game -- often for the first time -- he can still land at a four-year college. He might get a scholarship, to boot.

So, in his own way, Wiley is doing more to shape young men than his famous counterparts. In his 18 years as head coach at PGCC, he and his 14-year assistant, Joel Dearring, have helped dozens of players go on to get four-year degrees and head down successful paths as adults.

As Wiley says, PGCC is a place for "late bloomers." But it's not a place for basketball players who aren't serious about studying.

"You're a student-athlete here," said the coach, whose son, John Wiley Jr., is head coach at Bowie High School and whose daughter, Jeri, is head coach of the women's team at Radford University.

"We look for a kid who's interested in education and interested in getting a good recommendation from the coach. A student has to be committed," Coach Wiley said. Some students who are emerging from high school "are just not ready."

A perfect example is a 6-foot-3 guard on this year's Owls, Louis Benson.

He graduated from Meade High School in Anne Arundel County in June and headed off to a two-year college in Midland, Tex. The idea was to get his grades and his game up to a point where he could attract a major college scholarship.

But a fellow player ragged Louis about his roots. "He said I wasn't nothing if I didn't come from Area Code 915 [West Texas]," Louis said, as he dressed following Wednesday's game.

So Louis punched him.

"I got kicked straight out," he said. He returned to Maryland, and Coach Wiley took him on.

According to Louis, PGCC has given him the platform he needed to "work on my skills. I'm getting better, but I ain't to where I want to be."

Still, his mother comes to every game, which she couldn't have done if he had stayed in Texas. Louis said he hopes that the attention the Owls are attracting (they won 15 of their first 16 games this season) will pave the road for him to "play at the next level."

Coach Wiley, an eternally optimistic man with a broad smile, knows that he will never run a bright-lights program at PGCC.

Because the team plays many home games at the awkward hour of 5 p.m., it can't attract big crowds. Nor is the atmosphere anywhere near what it would be at MCI Center.

Ten minutes before Wednesday's game, boys in street clothes were shooting three-pointers. Referees were chatting with acquaintances in the stands. As the game began, players from each team shook hands with the opposing coach as they were introduced -- a sportsmanlike touch that would never happen when Duke plays Maryland. There was close to zero electricity in the air.

But the game itself produced plenty. PGCC scored on a three-point shot after just five seconds had elapsed. The Owls steadily widened their lead from 13-6 to 24-11 to 38-20. They led by 51-25 at the half. The final score was a crushing 113-52.

Wiley has never sent a player to the NBA, although current NBA superstar Steve Francis played for PGCC's arch-rival, Allegany Community College of Cumberland. But to Wiley, counting NBA players is not the true test.

"Community colleges have an image problem," he said. "People think of them as a last resort. But I think of them as a place for students who need a breather. We provide the opportunity for a student to get himself together and go on to a Georgetown or a Maryland."

How do the players see it? David Bailey, a 6-foot-8 center for PGCC, said he couldn't be spending a more profitable year.

"It's a tough level when you see certain [opposing] teams," he said. "The talent is there." Tweener ball "is not as soft as everybody thinks it is."

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, and persevere in prayer. (Romans 12:12)

Please remember in prayer….

Those who have lost family, especially:

• Rod Dunston on the loss of his mother

Those who are recuperating, especially:

• Charles Waugh from major surgery
  
• Bill McCaffrey from a recent hospital stay

Congratulations to:

• Monica and Gerald Cannon on the birth of: Ayana Sydney Cannon

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.

*Please send other newsworthy events or personal items of note to irelacion@aol.com. Contributions should be sent via email with the subject heading: 'MACBOA ITEM'; attachments to will not be accepted.

MACBOA Web Stats

02/01/2003 - 02/28/2003
 
Summary
  Total Visitors 5,563
  Average Visitors Per Day 222.52   
  Average Pageviews Per Visitor 1.1
  Average Length of Session (H:M:S) 00:01:31

Order your MACBOA Logo Whistles!

Be the first to receive your MACBOA logo Fox-40 Classic Whistle while supplies last!

Send your payment of $5.00 for each whistle ordered to Ike Relacion, c/o MACBOA Logo Whistle, 21112 Archstone Way, Unit 101, Germantown, MD 20876-6996.

Submitting Articles for MACBOA Consideration

Thank you for your interest in submitting an article for consideration on www.macboa.org.

We accept well-written features, how-to articles, "how I did it" success stories, tips and hints, motivational articles and other articles that will help our audience gain knowledge and succeed in their officiating avocation.

We do not accept articles that are primarily advertisements. However, you may place a biographical section at the end of your article. It should be no more than 30 to 40 words in length. It would be nice if you could include a 60x60 picture of you in .gif or .jpeg format.

Below are instructions for submitting your article to the MACBOA.org web site. We ask that you read the terms of your Agreement with MACBOA.org carefully.

Please note: We only accept submissions from the original author of the articles or a publicist hired by the copyright owner to submit material here. By submitting material, you acknowledge that you are legally entitled to distribute the work and to allow it to be redistributed. (If you are a book publisher or public relations firm with copy to distribute, please include a note to that effect at the top of the article you submit.) We do not pay for articles, and do not accept articles that are primarily advertisements. However, you may place a brief resource box and contact information (but no ads) at the end of your article.

To send your article, click on the "Article Submission Form" and answer the questions and then copy and paste your submission into the space provided. We have provided a copy of the form below. Please be sure your by-line appears below the title of the article. Click on the submit button to complete the process and or cut-and-paste the completed form and your article to macboa1@aol.com.

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're soliciting 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 membership
  

Please respond directly by e-mail to: irelacion@aol.com

HOW TO CONTACT THE NEWSLETTER COORDINATOR

MACBOA welcomes and encourages news and information for the periodic newsletter. Please submit all materials to address letters of comment, article proposals and queries, or news items to:

Ike Relacion, (301) 371-8520
E-mail: irelacion@aol.com

MACBOA Newsletter Information

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.

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

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

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