2023
DON’T SELL YOUR HALFTIME SHORT
by Scott Tittrington,
Referee
Basketball officials have been instructed time and again about the importance of pregame discussions as a crew. The 60 minutes prior to tip are a crucial window for an exchange of information between the two or three members of a crew to put everyone in the best position possible to work that night’s game and to make sure the crew is on the same page and communicating effectively with one another.
We also know the best crews are the ones that realize their work isn’t done when the final horn sounds and they walk off the floor. Postgame de‑briefings are extremely important, as they allow us to reflect on what just happened, discuss any noteworthy plays or rulings, and glean insights that can help us become better officials moving forward.
However, I would posit that on a night‑in, night‑out basis, the one necessary period of banter that we sometimes short‑change, and the one we absolutely shouldn’t given the possible implications of doing so, is the halftime discussion between the crew.
Think about it. A pregame addresses what we expect to happen. A postgame addresses what already happened. A halftime discussion addresses what is happening. It’s an opportunity to share realtime information and combine the best of both worlds of a pregame and a postgame. We now have one half’s worth of relevant information to draw upon for our next 16 minutes (NFHS) or 20 minutes (NCAA) of work. We aren’t discussing plays and situations and thinking about how to better officiate them two days from now when we next step back out on the floor. We should be using that knowledge to become better officials in the next 10 minutes.
