Appraisers Select Bavetta As League’s Finest Ref
Around the NBA
Next time you’re watching an NBA game and find yourself saying: “These refs are terrible,” see if your opinion matches the opinion of the official judges.
The following are the classified, internal ratings for each referee employed during the 1995-96 season, as appraised by coaches, general managers, league vice president Rod Thorn, chief of officiating staff Darell Garretson and a group of observers hired by Garretson.
They were first published in the Rocky Mountain News.
1. Dick Bavetta, 2. Hugh Evans, 3. Joe Crawford, 4. Ed T. Rush, 5. Jess Kersey, 6. Mike Mathis, 7. Dan Crawford, 8. Steve Javie, 9. Bill Oakes, 10. Hue Hollins, 11. Bennett Salvatore, 12. Joe Forte, 13. Ronnie Nunn, 14. Ron Garretson, 15. Jack Nies, 16. Paul Mihalak, 17. Ed Middleton, 18. Bob Delaney, 19. Bernie Fryer, 20. Tommy Nunez.
21. Terry Durham, 22.Don Vaden, 23. Eddie F. Rush, 24. Derrick Stafford, 25. Ron Olesiak, 26. Joe DeRosa, 27. Jimmy Clark, 28. Nolan Fine, 29. Greg Willard, 30. Ken Mauer, 31. David Jones, 32. Ted Bernhardt, 33. Luis Grillo, 34. Lee Jones (retired), 35. Bill Spooner, 36. Blaine Reichelt, 37. Mike Callahan, 38. Tom Washington, 39. Bruce Alexander, 40. Sean Corbin.
41. George Toliver, 42. Mark Wunderlich, 43. Hank Armstrong, 44. Joe Borgia, 45. Monty McCutchen, 46. Gary Benson, 47. Jim Kinsey, 48. Woody Mayfield, 49. Michael Smith, 50. Scott Foster, 51. Tim Donaghy, 52. Tommy Wood, 53. Tony Brothers, 54. James Capers, 55. Scott Wall, 56. Bennie Adams, 57. Kevin Fehr, 58. Leroy Richardson.
Coaches say Kersey is the top ref in the game, and general managers say he’s second, behind Evans.
Polls to close
All-Star balloting ends next Friday, and it looks like the fans will elect the following starters:
For the Eastern Conference, Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Scottie Pippen.
For the Western Conference, Hakeem Olajuwon, Gary Payton, John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Shawn Kemp.
Coaches vote for the reserves, and among those deserving the seven spots in the East are Alonzo Mourning and Rony Seikaly at center, Anthony Mason, Dennis Rodman, Vin Baker, Glenn Robinson, Chris Webber, Kendall Gill and Christian Laettner at forward, and Tim Hardaway, Terrell Brandon, Mookie Blaylock, Reggie Miller, Joe Dumars and Damon Stoudamire at guard.
Look for Mourning, Mason, Baker, Robinson, Hardaway, Miller and Brandon to make the cut. Rodman would be the biggest snub.
In the West, top reserve candidates are Shaquille O’Neal and Arvydas Sabonis at center, Karl Malone, Tom Gugliotta, Kevin Garnett, Joe Smith, Detlef Schrempf and Sean Elliott at forward, and Clyde Drexler, Eddie Jones, Latrell Sprewell, Mitch Richmond, Mark Jackson and Kenny Anderson at guards.
Look for O’Neal, Malone, Gugliotta, Garnett, Drexler, Jones and Richmond to get the spots. Sprewell could get left out just like Rodman.
High socks
It’s difficult to make a fashion statement while wearing an NBA uniform, but a few players have found a way to stand out on the court.
They wear their socks knee-high.
Glenn Robinson and Elliot Perry of the Milwaukee Bucks, Walt Williams of the Toronto Raptors, Lawrence Moten of the Vancouver Grizzlies and Gary Trent of the Portland Trail Blazers are the ones who look like nerds or trend-setters, depending on your point of view.
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