Trav's Thoughts

Bench decorum is a point of emphasis in NCAA college basketball. One point in particular is the coach's box.



The coach's box is basically a line on the floor past which a coach is not allowed to move. In the diagram, the box extends from the baseline to the little hash mark you can see. The idea is to keep coaches on their own benches and away from the middle of the floor. It keeps them from gaining an unfair advantage. It also keeps them from blocking the view of scorekeepers and clock managers. And it limits their ability to distract the officials by constantly chattering at them.

Coaches have been told to stay within the coaching box. They have been advised that a technical foul will be assessed if they do not stay within the coaching box. A technical foul awards two uncontested free throws and possession of the ball to the opposing team. It is clearly stated in the rules on page BR15-BR16.

During the Tennessee vs Xavier game today, both coaches were assessed technical fouls for this violation. And the pronouncers pitched a fit that the officials had made a mistake because the game should not turn on such a call.

I beg your pardon?

How about criticizing the head coaches for making the mistake?

Coaches and pronouncers can bitch all they want to about the "spirit" of the rule. But the bottom line is that the rules say that a technical foul will be assessed for "leaving the coaching box for an unauthorized reason".

You know what? Wandering two steps out of the coaching box is an unauthorized reason.

A referee's job is difficult enough without the added requirement of interpreting the "spirit" of the rule, or a coach's intentions. Referees are told to call the technical when they see the coach outside the box. If a coach doesn't want to get that techincal, which can change momentum in a tight game, then he should pay attention to what he's doing and be aware of himself on the bench.

After all, aren't these men supposed to be examples to the young men they are coaching? What example does it set to yell at an official when the coach is wrong and the official is right?

I've been a coach and a player and I understand that emotions can get out of control. I have believed, in the heat of the game, that I did not interfere with the receiver or grab that facemask. And then when I watched the film, I saw the clear evidence of the infraction.

So I say to Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl...Sir, you made a mistake and stepped outside the coach's box. The referee saw you and he did what he was required to do by assessing the technical foul. You, Sir, need to realize that it was your mistake.

And I say to the two pronouncers of the game...Gentleman, you do a disservice to the game by suggesting that a referee should be aware of the "spirit" of the rule. I would prefer that you support the rules, rather than perpetuate the idea that some rules should be ignored.

Rules are rules and I'm damn tired of phrases like "let the players play" or "a game shouldn't turn on a referee's whistle" or "that call wouldn't be made at the end of the game".

You know what? Games have rules. Play by them.

OK, I'm climbing off my soapbox now.