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why. But then he finds a reason.
"I think before the game starts, they expect
werything to be perfect. And then I think
they expect it to get better as the game goes
along ... I think this is what frustrates them:
we don't care who wins."
1989: Hillary's first chance to experience
the thrill of officiating on the Final Four stage.
As he took to the court in Seattle for the tipoff
between the University of Michigan and Illi-
nois, he wasn't nervous for his home-state
team - a team he said he never liked, even
though he resides in Grand Rapids, adding
that he didn't like any Division I teams. He
was nervous for himself.
"There were 40,000 people in the dome,
and I was standing there and my legs were
shaking so badly, I couldn't stop them from
shaking," Hillary said.
Based on the banners hanging in Crisler
Center, it was Michigan's last Final Four visit
before this year. Michigan reached the stage
ix 1992 and 1993, but the University vacated
the wins after the Fab Five controversy. It was
that Final Four game in 1989 that led Michi-
gan to the National Championship, and their
first and only NCAA title win.
But to Hillary, it was his first of three Final
Four visits.
"I never worked a National Championship
game, but if you were an official, that is your
goal: to go to the Final Four."
In our conversation, he didn't mention
Michigan's win or their progression to the
National Championship, where they beat
ton Hall. I searched for YouTube clips
from the game, hoping to see Hillary on the
sidelines. But the highlights didn't include
any close-ups of Hillary's shaking legs. I saw
then-forward Glen Rice and the short shorts
Michigan wore in the pre-Fab Five days. I
thought I spotted a younger version of today's
gray-haired, slightly balding Hillary standing
under the hoop when Michigan took the lead
with three minutes left in the game. The game
was tied at 81, with 28 seconds left. Michi-
gan had the ball. Rumeal Robinson missed
the 3-pointer, but Sean Higgins found the
ebound and layup, solidifying the 83-81 win
or Michigan and creating a memory for all
Michigan fans. Even then, we were on.
But Hillary's tone conveyed no devotion to
Michigan. I asked if he felt hesitant officiating
that game, since he resides in the state.
0
"I never had a team that I liked, and I think
it's because I went to a Division II school.
When I got to work with Division I schools, I
just never cared who won the game. But you
have to live someplace."
Hillary worked as a high-school teacher as
well as an official for the first 26 years of his
referee career. Initially, he wanted to work
as a basketball coach ifa job opened up, but a
friend encouraged him to become an official.
"What possessed me to forget about coach-
ing and going into refereeing, I would say, was
the excitement of the game," Hillary said. "I
didn't have to take any losses either, that was
kind of nice."
Orchestrating the officials in the NCAA
Tournament is John Adams, the NCAA
national coordinator of men's basketball offi-
ciating and the voice of the officials during the
tournament. "Fairness" is what he defends
when speaking on behalf of the hand-select-
ed officials working the NCAA Tournament,
officials he deems as the 100 best referees in
Division I.
As he drove across Ohio through an area
he deemed "sparsely settled," Adams called
me on speakerphone with a NCAA spokesper-
son silent in the background, listening in from
Indianapolis. Selection Sunday was only two
days away.
One-hundred officials are selected to work
March Madness from a list of recommenda-
tions given by each conference and Adams's
team. On March 17, Selection Sunday this
year, 68 college teams solidified their spot in
the NCAA Tournament and so did 100 offi-
cials.
You could make a bracket just for the offi-
cials. The NCAA evaluates the officials during
the tournament. If they perform well, they
move on to the next round. This means the
nine officials who work the Final Four games
and the National Championship are the best
of the best - an honorable spot Division I offi-
cials dream of holding, but also acknowledged
as a risk to their careers.
"You're on the only game being played that
night, and now you're on a call that deter-
mines the game, and you're at risk of everyone
watching that play and.seeingyou make a mis-
take," Adams said.
And when that call happens, Adams often
has to discuss it, recognizing if the officials
were right or wrong after the game concludes.
"I think the officiating is fairly similar as
it was 10 years ago, but the media scrutiny is
incredibly heightened over just the shortest
time of five years ago," Adams said.
Today's advanced production of sporting
events creates YouTube clips as evidence for
fans arguing a call. With often seven to eight
camera angles at one NCAA Tournament
game - and the ability for commentators
to zoom and slow down the action to sloth
speeds - the eyes of the officials aren't the
only eyes focused on examining the court.
"None of our officials are refereeing the
games on the television in slow motion. They
are doing it in the arena in real time, and that
is really, really hard," Adams said.
Take the National Championship matchup
between Michigan and Louisville. A foul was
called on sophomore guard Trey Burke with
5:10 left in the game. But was it a foul, or a
clean block? Officials said foul, giving Louis-
ville's Peyton Siva free throws to stretch the
lead to five. But according to Rodger Sherman
with SB Nation, it was a block, prompting his
article, "Final Four 2013: Did bad referee-
ing give Louisville its title?" And other news
outlets have joined suit, NBC News declaring
"Poor officiating puts a black eye on a thrill-
ing, memorable Final Four." And it's prompted
many students to make the still image from
the game --what they consider Burke careful-
ly blocking and not fouling Siva at the hoop -
their cover photo on Facebook in protest. Did
that one call change the game? Adams has yet
to comment publicly on the incident.
Adams said looking past the scrutiny, the
instant reaction to calls made by officials does
make the job rewarding.
"Most officials tell you, when they're fin-
ished, they miss the games. It's reallythrilling
to be out there refereeing a basketball game
in front of a big crowd and ... it's instant rein-
forcement."
But 2,500 games later, Hillary sounds tired.
Tired of the travel during the season, which he
described as "brutal." During the regular sea-
son, he could be on the road for 15 to 16 days in
a row with only a one-day break in between
trips, all which required his own planning.
"You get up in the morning at 6 a.m., get
on a flight probably connecting someplace,
and you go to another town," Hillary said of
his work routine. "There's quite a bit of loneli-
ness out there, butyou call back home, and you
tell them everything's OK and talk with them.
That's one of the tough parts of the'game -
they couldn't pay you enough money for that
part."
Hillary also seems tired of the game of bas-
ketball itself, adding he will turn on games just
to see if he knows the referees. If he knows
them, he will only watch briefly.
"Certainly I'll watch some of the NCAA
Tournament, but to watch a whole game?
That would probably take a lot out of me. I
don't know if I'd do that."
In this year's tournament, it was Driscoll's
turn to try and reach the Final Four stage for
the fourth time. Driscoll made it to the Sweet
Sixteen, officiating the Michigan State versus
Duke game in Indianapolis. I watched the
game to see Driscoll.
As Driscoll races up and down the side-
lines, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski watches
closely. It's a bigger stage, but his unwavering
gait and quick pace mirrors his officiating in
the Big East Tournament. With the camera
held tightly to the Blue Devils and Spartans,
Driscoll is often lost in the frame of the shot,
disappearing as the teams move down the
court and reappearing at the bottom of the key
in quick time. He's never in focus.
In our interview, Iasked Driscoll if he filled
out a March Madness bracket, hoping to catch
him in a moment of fandom. His answer was
a quick "No."
"When you become an official, you need to
understand what you have signed up for and
what you're getting involved in, and with that
comes walking that fine line and making sure
you're fair, and balanced and consistent," he
said.
I asked if it was difficult to surrender his
fandom.
"It wasn't difficult because this is what I
chose to do."
Any devout Michigan basketball fan has
seen Driscoll six times this season. You've
probably yelled at him on your screen,
maybe including expletives. And you've
probably questioned his judgment, or given
him praise, for calling traveling on the oppo-
nent. But you've seen him, whether you rec-
ognize it or not.
outtakes photo by teresa mathew/daily
on the record
"Hail yes! Kate Upton tweeted Spike!"
- Facebook user Heather Andrews Healy
Submit your own photo caption on The Michigan Daily's Facebook page for next week's outtake.
"I would have loved to win the game last night, butI couldn't
be more proud of these guys sitting next to me."
- NIK STAUSKAS,Michigan basketballfreshman guard, on the team's
journey in the NCAA Tournament.
"I survived ... I had Michigan; I had friends and family who
loved me no matter who I was. But not all kids get to
be at the University of Michigan."
- CHRIS ARMSTRONG, University alum, in his TEDtalk
about bullying at TEDxUofM.
"I came and never left ... I bleed maize and blue.
I absolutely love this place."
- SHELLEY SHREIER,psychology lecturer and thisyear's Golden
Apple winner, about her feelings towards the University.
Freshman guard Spike
Albrecht's first tweet
after the season? To
swimsuit model Kate
Upton, who attended the
National Championship
game in Atlanta:"@
KateUpton hey saw you
at the game last night,
- thanks for coming out!
Hope to see you again;)"
#heison
p=N
Kim Kardashian's first flame Ray J -
co-star of her infamous sex tape - came
out with a new song literally called, "I Hit
It First." Chorus: "I hit it, I hit it, I hit it, I
hit it, I hit it, I hit it first." We get it, Ray J.
A University Engineering video is circulating
post-April Fool's day, showing a scientist
teleporting a key in his lab. Curse you, Prof.
Xavier Vlad - if you exist - for being so
convincing with your white lab coat!
F
Accordingto the
Federal Reserve, $t
trillion in student
loan debt is shared
between 37-million
Americans. That's
trillion. It surpasses
both auto loans and
credit card debt. If
only the world made
a scholarship
for that.