|
articles : Drucker Still Enthusiastic Despite 22 Years as Villain
 Drucker Still Enthusiastic Despite 22 Years as Villain
Norm Drucker is a referee - one of those hated, whistle-blowing, biased, cheating policemen of the court who always seem to be working against your team. He's the man who is more unpopular than the opposing coach. On a popularity scale of 1-10 he rates a minus.
He's also the guy who did such a great job in that game your team won; who draws cheers when he tags the other team with a personal foul; who has eyes like a hawk when he awards the ball to your club after it's been knocked out of bounds; who is the picture of integrity when he ignores the pleas of the opposing coach, refusing to be intimidated.
"You learn not to let those things bother you," Drucker says. "You go out there and do the best job you can, and don't pay any attention to the catcalls and insults.
"It really doesn't make any difference to an official who wins or loses a game. We just try to do our job and enforce the rules. Most of the time, we don't even know the name of the player we call a foul against. The whistle is an automatic thing, a reflex, and if you'll notice, many times an official will have to look around at the player to get his number before reporting the foul to the official scorer."
Despite his almost constant role as the villain, Drucker has maintained his enthusiasm for the job after 22 years of officiating in the pros.
"Basketball is a difficult sport to officiate," he says. "I think it's the toughest. You can take any man with a sport background, put him in the field, and he might do a pretty good job in baseball or even football, but not in basketball. Basketball is fast moving, there's a lot of action and a lot of incidental contact you have to overlook or you'd have nothing but free throw contests.
"And no official is perfect. We all make mistakes, just like the players and coaches or anyone else. We just try to make as few mistakes as possible.
Drucker answers questions about his job honestly and candidly, and with the confidence that comes from knowledge and the experience of 15 years in the National Basketball Association and seven in the ABA. Just the fact he's lasted in his job for 22 years is a tribute to how well he performs.
Drucker remains in the game and takes the abuse because he loves the sport. It is not his livelihood. He also is a principal in the Office of Continuing Education for the New York City Board of Education.
He officiated at other levels for several years following a great playing career at CCNY and four years in the pros in the old American Professional Basketball League.
"I worked college basketball for three years, then worked in the Eastern League for awhile," Drucker recalls.
"One of the big problems today is getting good officials," he says, "especially on the professional level. There's a lot of traveling, a lot of time spent away from your family.
Years ago, Drucker says, there was a great deal of difference in officiating in the NBA and the ABA, but not now.
"The quality of play in the ABA is just as good as the NBA," he says. "In fact, I believe just about every team in the ABA would be in the NBA playoffs this year.
"When you have better players, the games are easier to officiate. I know there are people who say we 'protect' the Superstars - the Julius Ervings, Artis Gilmores, David Thompsons and others like them - but that isn't true. It may look that way because these players do things the average player can't do, and they do them without committing a foul. "That's what makes them Superstars."
What makes a man want to be a professional basketball official?
"A love of the sport, the travel, or maybe just money," Drucker says. "The pay is very good, ranging from $17,000 to $40,000 a year, and now we have a good pension and insurance plan."
And how would a man go about becoming a professional official?
"First, learn the rules," he advises. "Learn them well, then start working as low as you can - junior high school or even grade school if it's available, or CYO or YMCA games. Join your local officials association, and attend as many meetings and clinics as you can. Work as many games as you can get, and I mean maybe 100 games a year.
"Then work yourself up to the pressure games. Don't get impatient. It should take an average of six or seven years before an official is ready to move on to big college games, or the pros.
"There is no 'school' for basketball officials as there is for baseball umpires," he adds. "It's strictly on-the-job training, which I think is the best. You learn from experience and by working as much as you can.
"Then, when you've done all these things and you think you're ready, apply for a job with the pros. If you're hired, you'll find out pretty quick whether or not you really want to be a professional basketball official."
(This article appeared originally in a Spirits of St. Louis Official Program, March 26, 1976.)
|
