I am a basketball official, and that game was officiated horribly, to me it was very obvious Kentucky had no chance from the beginning, through the bad officiating and terrible play on defense from us, we still had a shot, until the bad call on the 3-point shot, that call took the air out of us. I know Orlandis Poole, he lives in my area of Virginia, and I have his phone number, I wanted to text him so bad after the game, but I didn't want to be an azz, even though he was bad, Steven Anderson killed us, he made 90% calls against Kentucky. If I was coaching that game, I would have definitely got tossed, sometimes you have to protest in a way that doesn't get you fined, and that's expressing your frustration during the game.
My take on the officiating
- Thread starter kygent2
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I totally agree. The SEC should be looking at this game and Pope should be asking that neither Anderson or Poole officiate another UK Game . Poole did the same thing against us last year against Texas A and M . $$$$$
What can be done as a coach when the calls aren’t going your way. If Pope would have been tossed would the calls have changed? Does a coach getting tossed draw more attention to the calls happening during the game? Seems like nothing happens to the officials even when they call games and are called out for bad calls.
We are getting punished for what we did to the rooferee
There were some really bad calls no debate. But, let's say there were 5 glaringly no debate ones. We still would have lost the game based upon everything else observed. It just would have been a closer score. I know that won't be a popular take here. But, do you honestly feel our terrible outside shooting and terrible rebounding would have changed? Our defense and rebounding has been bad in games where the refs were not bad. It is a problem that needs correcting, if possible, or there will be more losses refs or not.
Sometimes making a scene to call out an extremely bad referee ignites the team to play with heart to overcome the situation. We badly needed more heart in that game.
My take is we're blaming the refs more than the lack of effort and toughness.
Is Poole the owner of several cannabis dispensaries and is knows as reeferee?
There were multiple egregious calls at critical points in the game that prevented us from slicing the margin and putting game pressure on Georgia.
Down 7, we knock it out of bounds off Georgia. They get the ball and bank a three.
Down 5, foul when a three point shooter falls down.
Down 7, Robinson rebounding foul on flop. Walk 94 feet for free throws to stretch to 9 instead of cutting to 5.
Among others.
I don’t know if we would have won with fair officiating, but we would have had a chance. We had little chance with a crooked whistle, in what was likely to be a tight game under the best of circumstances.
For a school like Kentucky, it brings more attention to the game, and then once Kentucky complains, it is looked into, granted we know most of the time nothing is done, but on the inside the officials are evaluated and counseled on their performance
It was hard to be tough in a game that they are not letting you be tough in, did you not see the way they were calling fouls against Kentucky
I have witnessed a lot of games where a game is officiated differently after the coach gets a technical for calling out the refs bs calls. It didn't seem to work for Cal because they all seemed to hate him either way. 🤣
We got screwed by refs for decades, before rooferee was even a thing.
So, what can I personally do to get you to text him and be that 'azz?' I'm all ears
Ya can’t be tough on the bench with foul issues. And no player wants to foul out. So. If they’re calling bs it changes the way players play. Especially the physical part.
It's not just the physical part, it's the mental too. I guess you can hand wave the mental aspect saying be mentally tougher, but imagine playing a game of chess and a referee just comes by and takes two of your pieces... The mental effect of knowing you're getting shafted is just as impactful as the missing pieces.
What @Aike said. And it’s not only that so many bad calls came at critical nodes in the game, although that was certainly key. It’s also that, “let's say there were 5 glaringly no debate” bad calls: that does not equal a maximum swing of ten points in the game.
In the same way Anthony Davis used to be able to deconstruct an opposing team’s entire offense for 40 minutes with only five blocks, five really bad calls (or missed calls) changes everything else in a million ways because now you have to try to find a completely different way of doing things, hoping it will somehow be able to make up for the fact that apparently the normal rules of fair play aren’t available for you anymore. It affects the entire game and can easily cause way more than a ten-point swing. We really were playing five on eight.
Good points. I didn’t even mention the “strategic” removal of our physically toughest player in the first 5 minutes of the game on a rebounding foul and a moving screen.
Or the Andrew Carr flagrant that gave UGA a chance at 6+ points on one trip.
Which maybe you could live with, if they didn’t go to the monitor when Oweh was fouled at midcourt to prevent a breakaway, and judge that a common foul.
Lol, trust me I want to, I was in Rupp when he called the UNCW game last year, when I saw him in VA later, I said something to him about that game....So, what can I personally do to get you to text him and be that 'azz?' I'm all ears
This was my thought when I read uk78's post. Honestly there were more than 5 highly questionable calls any of which at the time could have and did change the flow of the game. In addition they went to the monitor several times when we had momentum in our favor, while that is not a "call" it impacts the game.
I really hate to say this but I have to agree. There were a few bad calls as there usually are in any game, especially a road conference game, but after rewatching and trying to be neutral, it wasn’t as bad as I first thought. We have things that need fixing, and they are things that CAN be fixed. I’m hopeful and think they will be fixed.
I think we should keep calling them out when it’s obvious bias. It was easier for them to get away with it before social media imo. Now you can watch the flops and bad calls over and over posted all over social media. Maybe it will hinder cheating in the future. “Maybe”
It was a 6 possession game. I would say there were both enough fouls called, and NOT called to make up for that.
But even if not, You are under the false assumption of "all other things remaining the same".
You can't convince me that players don't see when they are getting shafted (by the refs), that it doesn't affect them, either removing some of their confidence, or make them play more tentative or softer (so they don't get called for a foul), or make them play tight feeling like they have to play the perfect game to win.
Anyone who's played basketball or sports in general understands how yes technically you arent supposed to let officials or calls affect you mentally and play through it. But it's really hard to to do that sometimes when the dude guarding you is constantly grabbing/pushing/hand check/ and anything else he can get away with little to no foul calls. But the exact moment you decide to get a little aggressive (amari being taken down and Lamont being called for a foul on the three come to mind) you are tagged with a foul. That gets to you when it happens all night long. At some point you can't just brush it off anymore and just play through it.
Doubt it. I actually think increasing the hostility on our end only continues the incentive for refs to stick it to Kentucky. Pope is doing the right thing by contesting the calls in real time, being direct about the issue postgame while being respectful and submitting to the league office. As fans, we should be direct and loud about the bad calls but should be careful about taking it on ourselves to go at individual refs by name. Such a thing is a very bad look to referees, who like any other profession, want to protect their own. Just my two cents.
People keep saying "Well, we lost by 13. It didn't come down to 1 or 2 calls" OR "Even if there were 5 really bad calls, we still lost by 13. You can't blame that."
The math isn't simple addition. If we're called for something ridiculous, say a flop in front of Robinson when he goes up for a rebound, and then they score--that's a 4 or 5 point swing. So first and foremost, 1 bad whistle doesn't always just equal 2 or 3 points.
Second: Guys wind up in foul trouble over these bad calls and miss major minutes.
Third (and the biggest one), you're now allowed to get into any kind of game flow. Georgia was allowed to be very physical with us. But when we get physical on offense, we'd get an offensive foul. At some point, you can't consistently run anything. You can't get into a rhythm. You can't gain any momentum. I'm a big believer basketball is a game of momentum and runs. We weren't EVER allowed to build any momentum.
The math isn't simple addition. If we're called for something ridiculous, say a flop in front of Robinson when he goes up for a rebound, and then they score--that's a 4 or 5 point swing. So first and foremost, 1 bad whistle doesn't always just equal 2 or 3 points.
Second: Guys wind up in foul trouble over these bad calls and miss major minutes.
Third (and the biggest one), you're now allowed to get into any kind of game flow. Georgia was allowed to be very physical with us. But when we get physical on offense, we'd get an offensive foul. At some point, you can't consistently run anything. You can't get into a rhythm. You can't gain any momentum. I'm a big believer basketball is a game of momentum and runs. We weren't EVER allowed to build any momentum.
I don’t know why that is so hard for some to understand, they are not just isolated incidents.
I do not believe you have his phone number
To prove it you should post it here. Don’t worry, we don’t have any azzes here!!
😜
Thanks for the info seriously though. Good to hear a perspective from a pro!!
From one official to another, Yes, the interpretation of illegal screen , freedom of movement, application of flopping rule was not done consistently at both ends of the floor and gave UGA a clear advantage.
I disagree however, that Kentucky had no chance to win the game because of officials. We had no chance because of how we played . We missed layups, wide open 3 shots, 7 turnovers only from the bigs because of indiscipline on whom supposed to dribble and make decisions on passing, we rebound with one hand, many time we didn’t even put wall up in front of shooter…. And also coaching adjustments such as press come way too late when game was over.
Another point , already made on similar topics, the SEC dictate the tendencies on officiating based on the desire to have more teams in the NCAA tournament. There is nobody out there to go after Kentucky. Other teams are getting the same treatment.
We should focus our energy on encouraging the team so the players get better individually and as a team. Focusing so much on officiating makes us look as small team and even worse as a sore losers,
I wonder what the going rate is these days to buy an official or two to swing a game in one team's favor? I guess whatever the Las Vegas payout is.
People miss calls...part of the game. It's the inconsistency. You don't know how to play if things are a foul but then they aren't
I stated our defense did us in also, I don't think we are sore we lost, but how we lost, granted he did wait to long to press, and should have went zone more, but as a official you know, you can easily dictate the game, for sure on 50/50 situations, but in this game we not talking 50/50 calls......
I also officiated at the HS level for over 20 years, and I agree we still had our chances in the second half because Georgia didn't play that great either. Having said that, those guys had a bad game. Sometimes the three officials just don't have any chemistry together or just have a bad night (like players and coaches). Sometimes bad calls by one guy begets other bad calls by his partners...and it's usually in rock fight games like this one. I've driven home from games where I didn't think my crew or my performance was very good.
Having said that, these guys are getting paid a lot of $$ so they better expect a high level of scrutiny of their performance. So many examples.... Don Daily had to reach across the court to call an obvious foul on a baseline Oweh drive to the hoop that Poole fell asleep on. Another example was Garrison at the top of the key had his man lock him up under the armpit and blatantly held him as he attempted to drive to his strong hand. The illegal screen where they almost killed Perry and Daily put his arm up and then declined to blow the whistle. That's some bad officiating that should knock all three of those guys down in the pecking order. Pat Adams kind of stuff.
Having said that, these guys are getting paid a lot of $$ so they better expect a high level of scrutiny of their performance. So many examples.... Don Daily had to reach across the court to call an obvious foul on a baseline Oweh drive to the hoop that Poole fell asleep on. Another example was Garrison at the top of the key had his man lock him up under the armpit and blatantly held him as he attempted to drive to his strong hand. The illegal screen where they almost killed Perry and Daily put his arm up and then declined to blow the whistle. That's some bad officiating that should knock all three of those guys down in the pecking order. Pat Adams kind of stuff.
