FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – It’s a ruling Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt High School coach DeMarqus James said he’s never seen in all his years of basketball.
In his opinion, James said, “Officials should’ve made a different judgement call but at the end of the day they didn’t and it’s something we have to live with.”
The Chaparrals will have to live with being called for a technical foul — with seconds left and the game tied — for excessive celebration when O.D. Wyatt players jumped off the bench and onto the court in excitement. They were excited because they had just forced a jump ball which would’ve have given them the final possession and a chance to knock off defending 5A state champion Mansfield Timberview.
When asked if the refs ever discussed with him the possibility of giving his team a warning, James explained, “They came together as a crew and decided what they decided. Me as a coach I went into problem solving mode and how we overcome this hurdle… so to answer your question there was not a discussion.”
James doesn’t blame Mansfield Timberview for campaigning for a technical to be issued. He said, “You want any advantage you can get. I understand them pleading for a technical foul to be called.”
He doesn’t blame his players who jumped on the court. In his words, “I didn’t put them at fault for it. Emotional game and life lesson learned and it is a rule in the rule book and we violated the rule.”
As for his response to opinions that one of his assistants should’ve been there telling the O.D. Wyatt players to get back, “When there’s a fight or altercation. We have one coach in charge of keeping everyone back. This is not one of those instances.”
To be clear, James blames no one but it doesn’t change the sad reality. James said, “Let’s be honest… these are memories these kids are gonna have for the rest of their lives.”
