• Welcome to Fearless Friday Bulletin Boards. Please login or sign up.

 FF is powered by:        Do Not Sell My Personal Information

What if anything can a coach do?

Started by Gray lizard, March 04, 2019, 09:24:05 am

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Gray lizard

Situation a player from each team has the same number.  A foul is called.  The score table places the foul on the right number wrong team.  The fans catch it right away but nothing is done.  When coach notices the mistake at the end of the quarter.  He goes to the table and they refuse to make correction. The other teams book keeper made several trips to the table during the quarter.  So they change their book to match the table. 

sevenof400

Quote from: Gray lizard on March 04, 2019, 09:24:05 am
Situation a player from each team has the same number.  A foul is called.  The score table places the foul on the right number wrong team.  The fans catch it right away but nothing is done.  When coach notices the mistake at the end of the quarter.  He goes to the table and they refuse to make correction. The other teams book keeper made several trips to the table during the quarter.  So they change their book to match the table.

I am fairly certain that by rule, this is a responsibility of the coach BUT allow me a moment here to expand on this point in a slightly different manner than you may have meant, Gray Lizard.

As part of a basketball table crew, I am the person who runs the big board and does PA announcements.  (Our big board lists the 5 players on floor - by jersey number -, their points and fouls.)  Our table works as a team to make sure we have the right player when we note fouls, points - anything really - but I always try to make sure whatever we are writing in the book is announced for exactly the reason you note in the OP.

I can recall a few times where a similar situation occurred as you noted above, but fortunately, the referees and / or coaches were listening to the PA announcement and this brought the recording error to light immediately.  If such errors do occur, it is always best to deal with them immediately if you can.  I know you are aware of this, but I think every arena should have someone on the PA system announcing fouls for this very reason - it serves as a check to what is being written in the book.

Another problem here is the lack of any additional information with respect to when a player was charged with a foul.  I know some score keepers make identifying marks in the book to help them know which half or quarter a foul was charged, but I do not recall any bookkeeper who notes the time a foul was charged to a player.  If the mistake you noted in the OP was not caught immediately, I'm afraid it would become increasingly impossible to change the assignment of a foul as time elapses mostly because the likelihood of accurately recalling details is gone.   


Gray lizard

Thanks for the detail.  Like I thought if coach does not catch it at the time it is just something you have to overcome.  It would not be changed unless the other team was truthful with their book.  This was a critical error on the coaching staff.  it allowed the other team into bonus one foul early, messed up player rotation, and player to foul out with 4 fouls.  It also allowed the other team player to commit 6 fouls before fouling out of the game. That can never be allowed in a 2 point loss game.
All of the fans were upset with the refs as I was.  Given time to think it over I can not blame it on the refs as they went to the table with the correct number and the correct team took the ball out of bounds. So the blame goes to the table for not recording it right and the coaching staff for not catching it soon enough.

sevenof400

One additional thought to offer here - if we (the table crew) have any doubts with respect to whether or not we have the right info, we are supposed to hit the horn immediately to make sure we have the correct info.  Over the course of time that I have worked the table, some crews visit with us prior to the start of play for the evening and do a quick once over with respect to any questions or procedures (a pre game conference).  Some crews never bother (but to be fair, if a crew and table have worked together recently, a pre game becomes less important).  Part of that pre game should be a reminder from the officials to the table to feel free to hit the horn in cases where there is confusion.  No referee wants the info in the book to be wrong and neither does any table worker. 

Rocket23

Also in defense of the refs, unless they have definite knowledge, what is written in the book is official.  When I lived in Blytheville, on the road we always had someone sitting with or as close to scorer's table as possible to prevent just this.

I have never had the foul situation come up, it has been more with scoring discrepancies.

Fox 16 Arkansas Fox 24 Arkansas