UNLV still adjusting to quicker whistles

Steve Addy

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2000 | 10:55 a.m.

Coaches can talk technique all day long, but there are few magic words Bill Bayno can offer his Rebels to soften the wrath of the NCAA's stricter officiating.

The best he can do, advice-wise, would be to borrow the old TV catch-phrase: "Let's be careful out there."

The NCAA has ordered its referees to cut down on illegal contact, and some Rebels have been slow to adjust to the quicker whistle. Kaspars Kambala has had at least four fouls in all five games, and Danny Brotherson is on a similarly alarming pace (17 fouls in 93 minutes).

Foul trouble played a crucial role in the Rebels' biggest game so far, a 74-69 loss to Illinois last week in the Maui Invitational. Four Rebels fouled out in the final 6:18, severely crippling their already shorthanded rotation.

"Danny and Kas both got called for fouls that were flops, blatant flops (by Illinois)," Bayno said. "That will drive you crazy as a coach. It's harder for (referees) to be consistent when they're calling it this tight. But they have been given an ultimatum."

NCAA honchos say the crackdown isn't temporary, so players had better learn to conform. That means breaking old habits, like using an open hand to impede an offensive player or flaring the elbows to set a screen.

But players and coaches around the country have been scratching their heads in the season's first month, the Rebels included.

"I think there have been a lot of ticky-tack fouls," Brotherson said. "It kind of takes the fun out of the game for some of us. I'm an aggressive player, and the refs are calling everything. But that's the way the NCAA wants it, so we have to adjust."

Hand-checking on the perimeter has been the primary focus of previous officiating crackdowns, but now referees are concentrating on low-post contact.

"Once a post player gets the ball, we are going to treat him just like he had the ball at the top of the key," NCAA officials coordinator Hank Nichols told The NCAA News.

"We don't want the holding and pushing in the low post that we've had. It was getting too ridiculous, so we're going to blow the whistle more there."

Kambala has been guilty of fouls all over the court, not merely defending the post. He has fouled out twice already (Illinois, Cal State Northridge) after doing so only once last season.

"I have been called on screens and offensive rebounds more than when I've been guarding my man," he said. "I've been trying to put my hands up and give my man a little space to catch the ball. But as close as they are calling it, some of those fouls are hard to avoid.

"I have to be more careful away from the ball. You can't stick out your elbow on screens, stuff like that, because that is what they're calling. But everybody's having trouble with it, not just our team. In the Louisville game, I fouled out three of their guys, and I didn't think they were fouling that much."

Especially on the perimeter, foot movement is the key to avoiding fouls, Bayno said.

"You've got to move your feet and keep your hands off guys," he said. "When they drive on you, you have to get off them."

"They are calling hand-checking a lot," Brotherson said. "That is where you have to move your feet and give your man a little more room, instead of getting up on him and trying to make him do what you want. You can't (defend) with your upper body like you're used to."

Regardless of his own reservations, Bayno wants to make sure such adjustments sink in for the long haul.

"We have to be prepared to play this way all season," he said. "I think some teams will complain about it and let it affect them. We are going to work on these things in practice and use it to our advantage."