Basketball: Refs eject querulous pair in crackdown on dissent

By PETER JESSUP

Tall Blacks assistant coach Nenad Vucinic and Waikato/Proteam coach Jeff Green were both ejected from courtside at the weekend and two other NBL coaches came close as referees took strong action against repeated questioning of their calls.

Fiba-approved Dallas Pickering, one of two Kiwi referees at the Sydney Olympics, was one of the three on duty when Green was sent from the Hamilton YMCA for his second technical foul during a struggling 94-84 win over Auckland.

Green said his side's poor play had him fired up and he didn't realise one technical had already been called against the Waikato bench for dissent. Two players had individual foul calls against them.

Auckland's Lindsay Tait, who had a game-high 27 points, was blocked late in the game by three Titans and awarded free throws.

"There was no foul I saw," Green said. "I asked what it was for, four times - no swearing or anything - and that was it - I was gone."

Waikato were up 12 points and there were three minutes to go when Green got his marching orders.

"In the context of the game, it was over-board. All we want is some communication so we understand what's going on."

The league called all coaches and referees together during the pre-season Hoops tournament in Wellington for a forum at which rules and interpretations were discussed and coaches were given the opportunity to critique the whistlers. All coaches were told there would be little tolerance of dissent this season.

There was no problem in the opening round of National Basketball League games last weekend and no crackdown ordered for this weekend, but that's how it turned out.

Vucinic, like Green known for his outspoken and occasionally volatile approach, was sent out of the Giants-Hawks game for his second offence of abusing referees just before the end of the third quarter, sending his team into a tail-spin, the Hawks taking what had been a close run out to 102-63.

In Christchurch, coaches John Watson and Colin Driscoll were both handed one technical foul as the Rams beat a committed North Harbour 89-81.

Watson, on the Basketball New Zealand board, will have to sit out the review of the weekend's events that is certain to follow once referee's reports are received in Wellington today.

"This is political correctness gone mad," Green said. "We were told by the referees that continuing questioning of their decisions is bad for the game because it makes them look bad. But the fans can see what's going on, too."

Green will find no argument that some of the referees don't need help to look bad. The idea of using three has merit. But that means the pool now includes some referees with insufficient experience, so there have been poor decisions.

BBNZ is considering appointing a referees' coach, not least to ensure consistency in performance. The weekend's events will surely speed that.

NBL chairman Burton Shipley said the board would generally support the referees - he was comfortable with the action taken, and said other coaches should take note.

Colour was a part of the game and often there was a fine line between that and dissension, he said, but the image projected to fans, including children, should not be forgotten. Bad calls were part of any game.

"We've also asked the referees to crack down on players' use of the 'f' word," Shipley said.

Tait and Harbour's Lance Baker were the weekend's standout performers. Green conceded he told his players to double-team Tait, but he still got through, until the end when it really counted, fatigue playing a part after his 38-minute contribution as the Titans forced turnovers.

"Our depth told. Our defensive pressure was always going to wear them down," Green said.

Nat Connell with 16, David Hopoi 14, Dillon Boucher and Mason Le Pou with 12 spread the scoring. But Green said there wasn't enough intensity and he had torn strips off them afterwards.

Stars coach Kenny Stone was pleased with everything except missing the competition points. They left Aaron Olsen out because of concern he might rip stitches in a finger on his shooting hand torn during training. Without him the Stars were short up front and missed all 12 free-throw shots.

Stone said the team made mental errors, turned over too much ball, didn't get the offensive rebounds, but had improved on week one. If they competed like that every weekend, they'd win games, he said.

Driscoll was happy, too, with one-from-two out of the South Island. Baker shot a high percentage, including multiple three-pointers. He top-scored with 36 in the 101-96 overtime win over Otago on Friday night, then had 26 as the Heat dropped to the Rams on Saturday.

The Saints, who look like keeping coach Dean Vickerman now the NZ Community Chest has signed as sponsor, led all the way as they beat the Jets 89-69, Terrence Lewis bagging 22 points.

Taranaki pulled off a win yesterday, squeezing past the Saints 96-94 in New Plymouth.