Stone Memorial vs Livingston Academy

[LA_81]

First, that was not the game that I was expecting, I give all credit to the Panthers. They hit shot after shot to keep the momentum in their favor. LA's cold streak in the 1st quarter proved to be costly. Congrats to LA on yet another good season, all of you guys played with a lot of heart all year long, but especially you 3 seniors. Good luck to the Panthers for the remainder of the tournament. I would like to see you guys win it all.

 

Now, come on TSSAA. We pay $10 per head to get into that gym and that was the best refs you could find? I have seen better officiating at a peewee game, which is exactly what it reminded me of at times. For example, this happened twice in the game, the ball went Out of Bound right in front of a striped shirt, and all he can do is throw his hands into the air as if he has no clue as to what just happened. Really? He had to rely on the other 2 refs that did not have any kind of angle on the play, so who knows if they got it right. This is the biggest stage for high school basketball, and that is what we pay to see? Another example, Stone PG is trapped underneath the LA basket, he steps both feet and the ball 2 feet over the out of bounds line to get out of the trap, all of this happening directly in front of a striped shirt, and the whistle is not blown. This is absolutely unacceptable. It was calls like this throughout the entire game that was just demoralizing to me, and I know it was to the players. We get to the state tournament, and there we find the worst officiating that I have seen all year. I can handle the missed charge/block call from time to time. Stuff like that is going to happen, but the stuff that I seen in this ball game was rediculous. Now, I don't want to hear anybody on here say that I am blaming the refs for blowing the game. I truely believe that the 1st quarter set the tone of the game for Stone Memorial, and I give them all the credit for the win. But, I am simply saying that for the money that we spend to get into that gym, we surely can get better officials than the average peewee league.

 

I am proud of the LA coaches and players, even after the blow they took in the first quarter, they never gave up. They fought all the way to the final seconds when it would have been so easy to have just rolled over and give up. That says a lot about what kinda heart these guys have. Congrats to Stone, I am pulling for you guys to win it all.

Edited March 15, 2012 by LA_81

[BigShow1]

It really is sad. These are the best referees too that are selected from each region from my understanding. The fact is bad calls are going to be made for sure but you are right there are not enough good officials for the state tournament. The only answer is to extend the tournament. There are probably 12 good officials there. But due to the amount of games it is impossible for them to officiate all the games. The Girls State championship was horribly called. CPA was on the wrong end of almost everything in that game. They still won but it was bad. When you have 3 back to back to back championship games, you have to have 9 good officials. Apparently that is too hard in the state of TN.

 

Keep in mind too that it was LA that was fouling a lot and I believe the officials started calling everything both ways when it was in fact LA that was the culprit most of the time. Although you do point out some bad calls against LA

[LA_81]

It really is sad. These are the best referees too that are selected from each region from my understanding. The fact is bad calls are going to be made for sure but you are right there are not enough good officials for the state tournament. The only answer is to extend the tournament. There are probably 12 good officials there. But due to the amount of games it is impossible for them to officiate all the games. The Girls State championship was horribly called. CPA was on the wrong end of almost everything in that game. They still won but it was bad. When you have 3 back to back to back championship games, you have to have 9 good officials. Apparently that is too hard in the state of TN.

 

Keep in mind too that it was LA that was fouling a lot and I believe the officials started calling everything both ways when it was in fact LA that was the culprit most of the time. Although you do point out some bad calls against LA

 

I agree. They called the game way to tight. It seemed like there was a foul called on every trip down the flour, and it was like that on both ends. But its the calls, or lack there of, that should be very easy to make that they completely blew, out of just pure ignorance. If the ball goes OB, atleast have the gumption to blow the whistle and make some kind of call, whether it be right or wrong. Thats just common sense. I did not get to see any of the girls tournament, but if that is the best refs that the state of TN can find, we are really hurting.