Sidney and the officials.

[Hanmudog]

All year long it seems like teams just jump right into Sidney who is just standing there with his arms up and the refs give them the call. It has just gotten frustrating as hell to watch. Granted he is no defensive genius and occasionally does commit silly reach in fouls but he has not even gotten the slightest hint of a break from the officials.

The first 3-4 minutes of the game last night were so poorly officiated that I damn near left the Hump before a riot broke out. Worst I have ever seen. They were not just bad no calls, but no calls that led directly to points for UT. Something has got to be done about SEC officiating because it is just bad across the board for everyone not named Kentucky.</p>

 

[EAVdog]

I'm not saying he wasn't right to do it but the Arkansas game was rediculous and the first 5 last night was trending to be the same. They got better in the 2nd half though. still the 2 no calls on the Tenn players nearly throwing Moutrie to the ground and shoving him under the basket are uncalled for.

 

[Irondawg]

Totally agree Hanmu and made teh same point in the other threat about officiating last night. He picks up at least one if not 2 fouls a game that should have never had a whistle blown. It really seems like they are targeting him b/c I don't notice it as much on the opposition or anyone else on our team

 

[Tds &amp; Beer]

His upper body is straight up. It's his feet that are getting him in trouble. He moves them too much when he is bodied up with someone. He steps into them while they are stepping into him. He's gotta stay more still once they get locked up. He's trying to appear that he's not fouling while he is kinda fouling. He could easily see that if he watches film. I have a hard time believing that our team watches any film though.

 

[Hanmudog]

There have been many times this year where Sid was almost going out of his way to not make contact by standing flat footed with his arms straight up and still got called for the foul. Also on offense at least three times this season I have seen the ref blow the whistle for a charge on Sidbefore the contact was even made. There is not a doubt in my mind that the refs have targeted him.

 

[fishwater99]

There have been many times this year where Sid was almost going out of his way to not make contact by standing flat footed with his arms straight up and still got called for the foul. Also on offense at least three times this season I have seen the ref blow the whistle for a charge on Sidbefore the contact was even made.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> There is not a doubt in my mind that the refs have targeted him.</span>

It just really sucks for him and us. He really is a good kid and it's tough to overcome the prejudice of refs before the game even starts...

 

[Tds &amp; Beer]

but if he wants to stop getting those fouls called, he needs to stop jumping into them. He makes it look like he is standing still but he uses his feet to slightly jump into them and he also brings his arms forward some. Everyone else does it too. But if he wants to stop getting called for it, he'll stop. It's as simple as that.

 

[SyonaraStanz]

On one of his fouls last night, initially it looked like he was as still as a tree trunk, but on the replay he slid over at the last second into the TN player driving, creating more contact. After watching the replay, I think it was a good call. I think he tries to push the envelope when he's standing there "motionless" with subtle movements into the opposing players.

That said, I still think he's targeted and gets the short end of the stick on half of his calls, especially when you see the highway robbery that other players get away with. That's the most frustrating part with the officiating - the inconsistency.

 

[Brahmabull]

he plays lazy defense. Sometimes he plays no defense. Fair or not, he is going to be called for fouls b/c he is usually in bad position to play defense. <div>
</div><div>If he were giving 100% on the defensive end of the floor, the officials would have a harder time calling fouls on him. If he is constantly banging inside and sliding into position, I think he would get the benefit of the doubt more often, but instead he plays off of guys and tries to slide in at the last minute. </div>

 

[Hanmudog]

If Sidney went all out on defense the refs would foul him out in 2 minutes. I know he gets lazy and commits stupid reach in fouls but those are not the fouls I am referring to. I am talking about standing dead still in the lane and having opponents run into you or charges on Sid that get called before the contact even occurs.

I know the cool thing on here is to call Sidney fat and lazy but for the most part he played hard last night. It is just frustrating to see any player get hit with all the ticky-tack ******** that he does because everyone else does the same thing but the whistle never blows.

 

[Brahmabull]

I did call him lazy b/c he is. By his standards, he may have played hard last night. But he is still the laziest player on the floor. I want him to succeed. I don't wish for him or any of our athletes to fail. I just wish we could see him going 100% at all times. If that means playing him 2 minutes at a time, I am all for it. <div>
</div><div>And while I do think he has to take some of the blame, I also think a lot of the blame has to go on the coach. I guarantee you that the top coaches across the country would either have him in better shape or would use him in ways that he is able to give 100% while on the floor. </div>

 

[shsdawg]

He IS targeted by refs. He DOES stand around when he should be moving. To make up for that he IS moving when he should be standing still. The biggest problem it looks like to me is that he was never required to even attempt to play defense before he got to MSU. You can't just turn off old habits of a lifetime and install new ones that are infallible overnight, it takes time. In some cases it takes a LOT of time.He is one of those cases apparently. He IS improving. Is it as fast as we would like? No, but it is happening. Like it or not we are a better team with him on the floor. He is going to play, get used to it. In a best case scenario he does a Dontae Jones and we go a LONG way in March. If that doesn't happen we are still better with him than we are without him.

 

[hotdigitydog]

it's almost as if they are looking for something............

 

[dawgatUSM]

So, I dozed in and out of that game, which is something I never do...<div>
</div><div>However, I do remember a play on the baseline where Sid was guarding a guard who tried to fade away from him. I don't think I had a very good view of it on the tele, but it looked to me like Sidney was standing straight up, his feet never left the ground, and his arms were straight up, and they whistled him for a foul.</div><div>
</div><div>His attitude with the refs certainly doesn't help matters, but this kind of garbage has to stop. I remember Lawrence Roberts was like a politician with the refs, and in his 2nd year, he got a ton of calls/no calls. But Sidney just isn't that cool...</div>