Stressing that he means no disrespect to the NCAA’s officials, Indiana head coach Tom Crean said he’s still not clear as to what is and isn’t going to be called a foul after IU’s 103-99 overtime win against Kansas.
In that game, 32 fouls were called against Kansas while another 31 were called against Indiana. Four Jayhawks fouled out of the game, and they were joined by Hoosiers Robert Johnson, Thomas Bryant and Juwan Morgan.
The fouls against Morgan in particular baffled Crean.
“I picked apart the tape apart a couple of times,” Crean said. “I can’t even remotely tell you what he did wrong on a couple of those drives where he was called for fouls. He couldn’t have played it any better.”
Despite Crean’s frustrations, inconsistent or unclear refereeing is a natural part of the sport early on in the season. When the Hoosiers (1-0) take on UMass-Lowell (1-1) in their second regular-season game at 7 p.m. tonight at the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, they’ll be keeping tabs on what they can and can’t get away with in the eyes of the officials.
IU’s first game against Kansas gave plenty of real-world examples of referees making calls, but Crean’s still not clear as to why.
“I’m no closer to understandings how the game was officiated, what a foul was in verticality versus when it wasn’t” he said. “And I don’t know how (Kansas Coach) Bill (Self) or any of the other coaches feel, but again, it’s new rules. That takes time.”
For a second consecutive season, rules have been put in place to try and open up the floor and allow for freer offense. The idea behind the changes that should allow for more natural-flowing offense is that it could lead to more points and excitement in games.
The problem is referees are forced to call fouls that will punish defensive players who try and get in the way of their opponent illegally. Early on especially, that means plenty of whistles an confused looks on the faces of players and coaches alike.
“(Rule changes) are something we talk about a lot,” said Johnson, a junior guard. “Really as far as playing with our hands free on defense, that’s something they said they’re honing in on this season. That’s something we have to continue to focus on.”
That works both ways, Johnson said. Not only are he and his teammates trying to figure out what they can and can’t do defensively, but they’re also working on the other end of the floor to force officials into making calls.
“Offensively, seeing where we can get fouled in certain situations, get in the bonus early and things like that. I think that’s important to us,” Johnson said.
The problem, Crean said, is that he can’t seem to figure out what calls in one game will carry over to the next. His description resembles that of an umpire in baseball who has one strike zone compared to an umpire in the next game who might have a smaller or larger one.
In each game, players and coaches need to figure out how physical the referees will allow the game to be, Crean said. He wants the communication to be open between players and referees, especially now, so that everyone on the floor can learn how to properly defend together.
Perhaps tonight, in a game where I will be a heavy favorite, the Hoosiers can get closer to finding an answer.
“I certainly hope that (we) get better from game one to game two, and I certainly the referees from that game (against Kansas) get better from game one to game two,” Crean said. “That’s just the way it is. You want that from every perspective.”
