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The NCAA tabs a new head of men’s basketball officiating

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NCAA

J.D. Collins has been named the NCAA’s new coordinator of officials for men’s basketball, the NCAA announced on Tuesday.

Collins will replace John Adams, who retired after the 2014-15 season, having spent seven years in that role. Currently, Collins is the coordinator of officials for the MAC and Summit League. He spent two decades as an official, working two Final Fours in his career.

“I am humbled and honored to be selected to fill this position,” Collins said in a statement. “All of the stakeholders in our game are aware of the need for consistency with the application of the game’s rules and for greater accountability from officials. We’ll accomplish this by using the most advanced technology available to us while focusing on the basic mechanics that give officials the best opportunity to be in the right position to make the right calls as frequently as possible.”

The timing for Collins taking the job is not ideal, as referees at the college level spent much of the 2014-15 season under fire. Be it the way that the charge call is enforced, the number of ticky-tack fouls called, the amount of time that the referees spend at the monitor reviewing calls or the simple fact that there was far too much poor officiating this past season, it seemed like the officials were a story line in just about every big game, including the Final Four. Remember when Nigel Hayes’ scored after the shot clock buzzer against Kentucky? Or when Justise Winslow “didn’t” touch this ball?

I’ll stop short of calling the officiating at the college level a crisis, but it’s something that needs to be fixed, and quickly. Hopefully Collins is the guy that can do that.