Shockers in Canada

[tribecalledquest]

To me this just further illustrates that with Marshall you take the bad with the good. On the plus side he's just a great coach and recruiter. One of the best in the country. By all accounts he also seems to be a very fine husband, father, and role model for his players.

On the flip side he's a very emotional and driven individual. It's that very intensity that makes him a great coach but also gets him in trouble. This isn't the first time he's had an outburst like this but it may be the worst one.

If I were a die hard WSU fan I would be embarrassed by this latest behavior but I would still be damned glad to have him as my coach.

I think this pretty much nails it. Solid take, as usual, glm.

Agreed. Its ok to say the many good things about him but also recognize this incident for what it was.

[Stickboy46]

If I had been officiating this contest, the game would have been over. I applaud the officials for showing incredible restraint and poise. They are not paid well enough to have to be subjected to this kind of outburst. McGill didn't deserve this either.

This story is still filling my newsfeed and has now been picked up by non-sports national news outlets. It's embarrassing. He's a great coach, he's built something truly amazing at WSU, but this kind of stuff isn't good for the sport.

Wait let me get this straight .. You "applaud the officials" for not doing their job? They failed at one of their primary responsibilities of maintaining control of the game and calling a safe and fair game. They did not do that. They should be suspended also.

Let me be clear .. Marshall took his reaction too far, but he was very warranted in being upset in the dangerous officiating that was happening. His reaction does not excuse the poor job that refs did. I see you posted later that you are an official too. So of course you are going to side with them. There is a certain power trip mentality that most officials have ... that is exactly why people don't like them. The fact that they have ZERO accountability and unlimited power. You are saying that if someone called you out on not doing your job, you would take the ball and go home. They may not deserve to be yelled at with that passion, but the players didn't deserve to be put in danger because the refs wanted to reward one team for rough play. I used the word reward on purpose. Not only were they not calling the foul on the person creating the dangerous play, they often awarded them with free throws from it.

Just about everyone that I've seen (non-shocker fans included) that actually watched the whole game, and not just the tirade clip agreed that Marshall went too far, but had extremely valid reasons to be upset.

[unipanther99]

The officials could have called the game tighter. I probably would have. But they should be suspended? From what? Making $150 or so to ref a Canadian college exhibition game? These guys aren't paid like NCAA D1 officials who we can hold to a higher standard.

If you're going to go on trips like this, you have to understand the officiating is probably not going to be what you've come to expect. You can either do like most coaches do, accept that and make the best of it, or request to bring and pay for your own officials.

[Stickboy46]

The officials could have called the game tighter. I probably would have. But they should be suspended? From what? Making $150 or so to ref a Canadian college exhibition game? These guys aren't paid like NCAA D1 officials who we can hold to a higher standard.

If you're going to go on trips like this, you have to understand the officiating is probably not going to be what you've come to expect. You can either do like most coaches do, accept that and make the best of it, or request to bring and pay for your own officials.

Amount of pay should have no bearing on player safety.

[unipanther99]

And yelling, screaming, getting in faces, shoving assistants toward officials, and generally acting a fool does little to improve player safety. If that was his primary concern, he should have (as many others have said) removed his team from the court.

[Stickboy46]

And yelling, screaming, getting in faces, shoving assistants toward officials, and generally acting a fool does little to improve player safety. If that was his primary concern, he should have (as many others have said) removed his team from the court.

Correct .. He got punished for that. My point is he had valid reason to be upset. He went too far. The refs have zero accountability and that's a problem

[musiccitybulldog]

I would think the Shocker play would have some bearing on the degree of the melt down.

[mvcfan]

By McGill's account, these officials were in "training. It's not a good idea to train 3 officials in a real or exhibition game with high athletes. One is asking for a game to get out of hand. This should be done at lower levels, in controlled scrimmages, and with a crew that includes experienced officials with a newbie. This is a recipe for disaster imo.

[BirdsEyeView]

Anybody who tries to defend HCGM's actions here is dead wrong. Don't let your emotional attachment to the guy for what he has done for the Shocker program affect you by making excuses for his actions that night.

A great coach he is.
A great example for how to act on the sidelines he is not (this being the culmination).

[unipanther99]

By McGill's account, these officials were in "training. It's not a good idea to train 3 officials in a real or exhibition game with high athletes. One is asking for a game to get out of hand. This should be done at lower levels, in controlled scrimmages, and with a crew that includes experienced officials with a newbie. This is a recipe for disaster imo.

This is true. However I hear most of the higher level FIBA officials are busy doing something else right now.