You be the referee and make the call in the controversial ending to the Milton-Norcross playoff game
We have video of the the final seconds to the controversial ending to the Milton-Norcross game from Saturday’s Class AAAAA quarterfinals.
Let’s set up the scene: Norcross was winning by a point with 10.2 seconds left in regulation. Milton drove down the court and missed two shots, and Norcross celebrates as if it has won. However, a referee determined that Milton’s Julian Royal was fouled while attempting to rebound somewhere around the time of the final buzzer.
You know the rest of the story: Royal makes both foul shots to give Milton the 52-51 win and, more importantly, a berth in the state semifinals.
Loading ...YOU BE THE REF. You’re wearing the striped shirt, and this call has enormous implications, directly affecting the outcome of the state quarterfinals.
How did you see the final seconds? Did the referee make the right call? Or should the referee have the let ‘em play? Please post below and feel free to express your opinion.
Also, to get a full recap of the story, please click on this link for the article.
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122 comments Add your comment
Michael Carvell
March 8th, 2010
9:44 pm
We talk about this more in the other blog, but it was the clock operator (sitting 50 feet away in a loud, loud environment) who ultimately decided that he heard the whistle before the horn. Go here … http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-high-school-sports/2010/03/08/the-ghsa-takes-questions-about-the-controversial-ending-to-state-playoff-game-updated/
bigdog
March 8th, 2010
9:50 pm
I agree in spirit, but mabe Norcross should have been given .3 seconds on the clock, and maybe a timeout for Norcross should have been awarded, but a foul is a foul (unless its a fowl)….’nuff said. Maybe the Norcross kid should have tried to CONTEST the shot instead of just grabbing the player. I think its a bad habbit that our young players have gotten into: just grabbing instead of tring to defend. A grab is a foul, no matter what time is on the clock.
Michael Carvell
March 8th, 2010
9:54 pm
Bigdog: Thanks for your post. What shot was being contested? They were battling for a rebound. Royal was NOT shooting.
DHD
March 8th, 2010
11:16 pm
All complainers: Sign up to ref next season.
Blinky
March 8th, 2010
11:25 pm
this thread is turning into a joke. By tomorrow morning Im sure someone will accuse the reffs of being Taliban conspiritors. The reffs may have been inconsistant but, I have yet to see a perfect officiating crew all year. They did the best job that they could. it is unfortunate that Norcross had to lose that way but life is not fair. If Norcross wanted to improve their chances of winning, they should have made a few more jumpshots, had less turnovers, etc. That one play is what everone will remember. It was NOT what determined the outcome of that game.
rationalperson
March 8th, 2010
11:38 pm
Ok well I think all the irrational people here need to realize a few things. First of all, he is human. I am sure he has a family and friends who care about him. He is no different than any of you. Second, he made the correct call. That is absoluley a foul and it would have been totally unfair to Milton to not call it. For those who say his whistle was ‘late’ or ‘after the buzzer’ you need to understand that he is human. There was less than a second when the foul occured and he had called the foul roughly a second after the buzzer. So in other words, he reacted in less than 2 seconds, taking into account the atmosphere, pressure, noise, and aggressive play, that’s a pretty good job considering he is a HUMAN. Now I understand there was time on the clock at the time of the foul, and it didn’t get replaced. In high school basketball there is no replay or any equipment to look that closley at it. Its a tough call because there’s no way to prove the time left. I do feel like there should have been time pu back on the clock but realistically, Norcross wouldnt have scored from their own backcourt with less than a second left anways. So yall cool off a bit…..
notta_whiner_just_a_winner
March 9th, 2010
12:32 am
you know…all that really matters is, our guy was fouled and WE WON THE GAME! WOOO-HOOOO!
Bah-bah-bah-Bah-bah…….I’m lovin’ it!
Yeah, baby! Obvious foul. Obvious time .3 was left on the clock. Good call, and way to STROKE those free throws under pressure!
Boo-yah! WE WIN! YAAAAAAAAAAAY!
Go home you whiny losers!
IREF
March 9th, 2010
6:45 am
I was at the game, and I have been officiating for 18 years, there is know way you make that call from that position, that wasn’t in the refs
area, if anything the slot official should have made that call. Durning the entire game it was plays like that on rebounds and the call was never made, why make that call at that time in the game. I know this referee personnelly and he has made many call like this that has decided a game. Every year the GHSA put the same officials in these games and they continue to make the same error in judgement calls. This same office made a call in a state championship game the was turly not a foul a few years ago, this team was down by 1 point with 11 seconds on the clock, the team that down shoots a 3 pointer, the defence player
jumps in from of the shooter and claps her hand and he call a foul the player when to the line and hit 2 free throws and won the game.
Proud PRHS Lions Mom
March 9th, 2010
9:34 am
This happens in all sports. Does anyone remember the end of the Peachtree Ridge v. Roswell playoff game during the 2007-2008 football season? Talk about a heartbreaker!!! Yes, it hurt to see our kids lose in the playoffs because of a bad call, but they moved on, even making it to the Championship game the very next year. Perhaps the same determination to prove all the doubters wrong will happen in Norcross for the basketball team, propelling them even further next year!
Taylor Wooten
March 9th, 2010
9:57 am
The GHSA is pathetic. Its all about money for them. Dont believe me? Call them up and ask for a copy of their latest financial reports. Why do the high schools continue to let this bogus organization be the “tail that wags the dog”?
Young Referee
March 9th, 2010
10:06 am
The Lead Official was on top of the call. The Center Official helps signify the end of the quarter…not just the clock and the horn. If you look at the reaction time of the Center Official, it appears that the Lead Official made the call before the Center Official signified the end of the quarter. You would like to see them play it out, but if it is a foul the correct call should be made. Should the argument be that the Lead made the call after the clock hit 0.0 or that the Center reacted just as late signifying the close of the quarter??
Foul!
March 9th, 2010
10:49 am
Correct call Ref! People must be voicing their agenda rather than there view! Come on guys…you have gotta see the foul, “over the back,” going on before the light goes off.
boo hoo
March 9th, 2010
11:24 am
Stop your crying. There has got to be at least a dozen bad calls a game and another 20 calls never made.
Norcross is done now move on..
Retired Ref
March 9th, 2010
11:42 am
When you have administrators in the GHSA office such as Yarborough and one of his cronies named Cowart out of Macon what more can you expect. These two people alone have almost ruined high school basketball. Cowart has his favorites to work games as does Yarborough. The best thing that could happen to Georgia basketball would be for Dr. Swearingen to rid the GHSA of Yarborough and Cowart. Officials will tell you the same thing but they are afraid to say anything because of possibly being blackballed by the Godly duo. Since Yarborough came aboard things have steadily gone down in the basketball officiating ranks, and even more so since he tied up with Cowart. A sad state of affairs.
Come on
March 9th, 2010
1:02 pm
To the people complaining about people getting upset about this call, you need to realize how much work the players and coaches put into the season, and unjustly (obviously from this video) ending a teams chances is a big deal, it should be taken seriously.
christophorm
March 9th, 2010
1:22 pm
From south georgia..Hacked on the arm at 0.03…
bee
March 9th, 2010
2:30 pm
No game, especially games that could end seasons, should be decided by an official. If an official has to go to ‘replay’ to justify a call, he shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Dre
March 10th, 2010
12:41 am
Wow….. It is amazing how some people on here can say “I have watched this video 30 times, and I see no foul”. Then you have some to say ” I have watched this video 30 times, and it was the correct call”. Its like out country………..totally divided. People see what they want to see and believe what they want to believe, and are determined not to change their opinion. This is classic. But it was a FOUL lol. Maybe if the guy doesn’t wrap him up on tghe rebound, they dont call the foul. Regardless if he had no chance to go up with the shot, a foul is a foul. I think everyone has to point to the kid on this one, no the ref. If you grab a reciever running a go route with no seconds on the clock and the ball is 10 yards overthrown, I promise you there will be a foul. Maybe holding instead of PI. But there will be a foul. he still had to stand there with the game on line and hit his free throws..HUGE!!!!!!!
HSMan
March 10th, 2010
7:50 am
Here’s the important ruling question we need answered: Is the foul official when it is committed, or when the ref makes the call? If the clock is supposed to stop when the foul is committed, then there was .3 left and all this gibber-jabber about not putting time back on the clock is valid. However, if the timer is supposed to stop the clock when the foul is called, then tthe game was over before there was any foul, this means Norcross won. Can you answer this ruling question Michael, and it will resolve this once and for all?
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COach Boyd
March 10th, 2010
1:51 pm
big dog– what game were you watching #23(Norcross) fouled out of the game
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