Untucked: Jersey technicals mar finale of Crossroads-Vance Charter game
By Brandon White
bwhite@hendersondispatch.com; 252-436-2840
Jan 24, 2020 4:19 PM
HENDERSON — A calm and orderly match-up between the Crossroads Christian Colts and Vance Charter Knights played out for three quarters on Thursday evening, but the game devolved into controversy in the fourth.
The Colts held on for a 79-68 victory, but referees assessed multiple fouls to both teams, including technical fouls for jersey infractions that left Crossroads head coach Scottie Richardson frustrated and puzzled.
“I try not to blame officials, but they wanted to be in control and they inserted themselves into the game,” Richardson said. “This game lasted almost three hours, and we had four guys foul out, with several more having four fouls. Both teams got technicals, and in 25 years of coaching, I’ve never seen a game where it’s been that bad on both sides.”
Richardson believed his players were executing his game plan through most of the contest, as they passed the ball efficiently and drove the ball inside to gradually pull away from the Knights.
Shooting was the one thing that prevented the Colts from putting the game away much earlier, with multiple open looks inside the paint or beyond the arc either bouncing off the rim or rolling out of the cylinder.
As the game progressed, the fouls began to add up for Vance Charter, with the team’s leading scorer, Joshua Edwards, being forced to the bench at the end of the first half, while head coach Taron Downey got tagged with a technical foul after arguing a call with an official.
The foul trouble would eventually become an issue for Crossroads too, as in the second half one of their top rebounders, Noah Brantley, was the first to leave the game for the night with five fouls. Caden Woodward followed him shortly afterward.
Chaos began to ensue as players from both teams went to bench for the final time, with the officials issuing technical fouls to those who untucked their jerseys. That sent both the Colts and Knights to the free-throw line for extra shots and slowed the pace of the game tremendously.
Richardson was baffled as to why simply untucking a jersey warranted a technical foul. But he believed the officials crossed their own boundaries by handing those punishments out when a player was no longer in the game.
“We had a kid foul out, we subbed him out, he walks off the court, is on the bench and takes his shirt tail out, and that’s why he gets a technical,” Richardson said. “I’ve never seen that or heard of that, and it wasn’t just Crossroads getting these calls. Vance Charter was as well. Little things like that should be addressed before the game.”
One sequence in particular that irked Richardson involved Zach Murphy, who collided with a Vance Charter Knights defender as he dribbled the ball down the court with just over four minutes remaining in the game. Initially, it was a foul on the Knights.
But the call on the floor was changed into an offensive foul on Murphy, who then received a technical for untucking his jersey as he exited the court after fouling out, a call that led to a chorus of jeers from the Crossroads fanbase.
Proper dress on the basketball court gained attention earlier this season during a game between the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder.
In that December game, Oklahoma City guard and former Wake Forest great Chris Paul alerted an official to Minnesota player Jordan Bell’s untucked jersey. That prompted a technical foul on the Timberwolves that ultimately helped the Thunder secure the victory.
Paul’s decision to call attention to Bell’s jersey infraction has prompted officials at every level of basketball to keep a closer eye on how players are dressed. The N.C. High School Athletic Association is among the groups tightly enforcing an obscure but established rule.
“In the National Federation of State High School Associations Rule Book, under the Player Technical Foul section, Rule 10-4-6h states officials should assess a technical foul to players for ‘removing the jersey and/or pants/skirt within the visual confines of the playing area,’” NCHSAA associate commissioner and supervisor of officials Mark Dreibelbis said.
Crossroads is a member of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association, but officials work games for both groups, Richardson said. Vance Charter is a member of the NCHSAA.
The tight enforcement of the rule in situations where players were off the court also irritated Knights head coach Taron Downey, who had one of his own players tagged with a jersey infraction technical and just wanted to see the game play out in a natural fashion.
“I don’t want to say the refs were bad, but I didn’t agree with a lot of the calls they made,” Downey said. “They made it about themselves instead of the players, and that’s unfortunate when everyone is paying attention to the calls the refs are making instead of the actual game.”
Despite dealing with a plethora of controversial calls, the foul trouble on the Colts helped Vance Charter get back in contention with only a couple of minutes remaining in the game, as they forced multiple turnovers to cut their deficit down to seven points.
Although the Colts lost Murphy, Woodward, Brantley and Asher Fulk to five fouls, Bell remained on the court with only one foul to his name and was instrumental in helping his team hold off the hard-charging Knights for Crossroads' 13th win of the season.
Even with fouls slowing the pace of the game, Downey knew erasing a 20-point deficit was a monumental challenge for the Knights, and said the aggression his team showed had been needed during the game's first 24 minutes.
“They came out and hit us in the mouth early,” Downey said. “We didn’t match their intensity until the fourth quarter. I was glad that we played hard during the last quarter, but against a great team [like the Colts], that’s way too late.”
Richardson was disappointed in the way events unfolded during the final minutes, as he believed the officiating overshadowed one of the best games in Bell’s high school career, as he ended his night with 45 points.
Richardson intends to get a clarification on the rules regarding tucked-in jerseys, but he praised his players for controlling their emotions and holding off a Knights program that used the chaos to build momentum
“You have to give Vance Charter some credit,” Richardson said. “I don’t want this to sound like the officials got in the way of the game because Vance Charter played great. They played all the way until the end, but we showed some poise, scored 79 points and got out with a double-digit win.”
The Colts and Knights moved on from Thursday’s game with Friday match-ups against the Neuse Christian Academy and Franklin Academy, respectively. Both will be back in action on Tuesday with the Knights facing the Roxboro Community Bulldogs and the Colts battling the Burlington School Spartans.
By Brandon White
bwhite@hendersondispatch.com; 252-436-2840
Jan 24, 2020 4:19 PM
HENDERSON — A calm and orderly match-up between the Crossroads Christian Colts and Vance Charter Knights played out for three quarters on Thursday evening, but the game devolved into controversy in the fourth.
The Colts held on for a 79-68 victory, but referees assessed multiple fouls to both teams, including technical fouls for jersey infractions that left Crossroads head coach Scottie Richardson frustrated and puzzled.
“I try not to blame officials, but they wanted to be in control and they inserted themselves into the game,” Richardson said. “This game lasted almost three hours, and we had four guys foul out, with several more having four fouls. Both teams got technicals, and in 25 years of coaching, I’ve never seen a game where it’s been that bad on both sides.”
Richardson believed his players were executing his game plan through most of the contest, as they passed the ball efficiently and drove the ball inside to gradually pull away from the Knights.
Shooting was the one thing that prevented the Colts from putting the game away much earlier, with multiple open looks inside the paint or beyond the arc either bouncing off the rim or rolling out of the cylinder.
As the game progressed, the fouls began to add up for Vance Charter, with the team’s leading scorer, Joshua Edwards, being forced to the bench at the end of the first half, while head coach Taron Downey got tagged with a technical foul after arguing a call with an official.
The foul trouble would eventually become an issue for Crossroads too, as in the second half one of their top rebounders, Noah Brantley, was the first to leave the game for the night with five fouls. Caden Woodward followed him shortly afterward.
Chaos began to ensue as players from both teams went to bench for the final time, with the officials issuing technical fouls to those who untucked their jerseys. That sent both the Colts and Knights to the free-throw line for extra shots and slowed the pace of the game tremendously.
Richardson was baffled as to why simply untucking a jersey warranted a technical foul. But he believed the officials crossed their own boundaries by handing those punishments out when a player was no longer in the game.
“We had a kid foul out, we subbed him out, he walks off the court, is on the bench and takes his shirt tail out, and that’s why he gets a technical,” Richardson said. “I’ve never seen that or heard of that, and it wasn’t just Crossroads getting these calls. Vance Charter was as well. Little things like that should be addressed before the game.”
One sequence in particular that irked Richardson involved Zach Murphy, who collided with a Vance Charter Knights defender as he dribbled the ball down the court with just over four minutes remaining in the game. Initially, it was a foul on the Knights.
But the call on the floor was changed into an offensive foul on Murphy, who then received a technical for untucking his jersey as he exited the court after fouling out, a call that led to a chorus of jeers from the Crossroads fanbase.
Proper dress on the basketball court gained attention earlier this season during a game between the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder.
In that December game, Oklahoma City guard and former Wake Forest great Chris Paul alerted an official to Minnesota player Jordan Bell’s untucked jersey. That prompted a technical foul on the Timberwolves that ultimately helped the Thunder secure the victory.
Paul’s decision to call attention to Bell’s jersey infraction has prompted officials at every level of basketball to keep a closer eye on how players are dressed. The N.C. High School Athletic Association is among the groups tightly enforcing an obscure but established rule.
“In the National Federation of State High School Associations Rule Book, under the Player Technical Foul section, Rule 10-4-6h states officials should assess a technical foul to players for ‘removing the jersey and/or pants/skirt within the visual confines of the playing area,’” NCHSAA associate commissioner and supervisor of officials Mark Dreibelbis said.
Crossroads is a member of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association, but officials work games for both groups, Richardson said. Vance Charter is a member of the NCHSAA.
The tight enforcement of the rule in situations where players were off the court also irritated Knights head coach Taron Downey, who had one of his own players tagged with a jersey infraction technical and just wanted to see the game play out in a natural fashion.
“I don’t want to say the refs were bad, but I didn’t agree with a lot of the calls they made,” Downey said. “They made it about themselves instead of the players, and that’s unfortunate when everyone is paying attention to the calls the refs are making instead of the actual game.”
Despite dealing with a plethora of controversial calls, the foul trouble on the Colts helped Vance Charter get back in contention with only a couple of minutes remaining in the game, as they forced multiple turnovers to cut their deficit down to seven points.
Although the Colts lost Murphy, Woodward, Brantley and Asher Fulk to five fouls, Bell remained on the court with only one foul to his name and was instrumental in helping his team hold off the hard-charging Knights for Crossroads' 13th win of the season.
Even with fouls slowing the pace of the game, Downey knew erasing a 20-point deficit was a monumental challenge for the Knights, and said the aggression his team showed had been needed during the game's first 24 minutes.
“They came out and hit us in the mouth early,” Downey said. “We didn’t match their intensity until the fourth quarter. I was glad that we played hard during the last quarter, but against a great team [like the Colts], that’s way too late.”
Richardson was disappointed in the way events unfolded during the final minutes, as he believed the officiating overshadowed one of the best games in Bell’s high school career, as he ended his night with 45 points.
Richardson intends to get a clarification on the rules regarding tucked-in jerseys, but he praised his players for controlling their emotions and holding off a Knights program that used the chaos to build momentum
“You have to give Vance Charter some credit,” Richardson said. “I don’t want this to sound like the officials got in the way of the game because Vance Charter played great. They played all the way until the end, but we showed some poise, scored 79 points and got out with a double-digit win.”
The Colts and Knights moved on from Thursday’s game with Friday match-ups against the Neuse Christian Academy and Franklin Academy, respectively. Both will be back in action on Tuesday with the Knights facing the Roxboro Community Bulldogs and the Colts battling the Burlington School Spartans.
