Some coaches and players are getting downright defensive about it. One of the three points of emphasis in basketball by the National Federation of State High School Associations this season is simple: enforce the hand-check rule. But the actual enforcement, or lack thereof, has left players and coaches bewildered.

In boys hoops, the early season showed that OIA referees interpreted the emphasis and rule 100 percent. That was very much the case in the ILH-OIA Challenge at Moanalua, where OIA officials were at work. Quick whistles came on a defender’s hand-to-body contact with a ballhandler who was dribbling. But there were also cases of whistles on contact before there was even a dribble.

It’s shown up on the court in the OIA, where Kailua’s Delcie Williams scored 44 points — half on free throws — in a 94-90 overtime game. Scoring is up in the OIA, where offense is being rewarded.

In the ILH, girls games are not so offensive. Same with the boys, where ILH officials worked the recent St. Francis Merv Lopes Classic. Some veteran referees allowed a lot of pre-emphasis type of contact. That was evident in a game between Saint Louis and Santa Margarita (Calif.). Crusaders coach Keith Spencer hollered about hand checks a handful of times.

SO WHY THE DIFFERENCE? One OIA official says it’s because ILH officials are using a college-level interpretation of the rule, while the OIA refs are using a high school interpretation.

Kamehameha-Hawaii coach Dominic Pacheco was not happy with officials during his team’s loss to Kamehameha at the Merv Lopes tournament. It was a classic case of a team from the BIIF, where officials are known to call games tightly, not adjusting on the fly to a crew of ILH referees, who permit more contact on the dribble and in the paint.

"It’s strange," he said.

Alton Mamiya is head of the Hawaii State Basketball Officials Association, which won the bid to work OIA games this season. He sees resistance to the NFHS rule’s emphasis by the ILH’s officials, who are part of the 50th State Basketball Officials Association.

"Some old dogs have a hard time learning new tricks. When I took over the association (this year), my goal was to stick with high school rules, and we’re not going to deviate from it," Mamiya said. "The rule book says if you displace the player with a hand on the hip or an elbow, that is a foul. Any displacement. If a player’s speed, rhythm, balance and quickness are interrupted at any time, that’s a foul."

He also said HSBOA values a balance between hard, cold rules on paper and the physicality of the sport.

"The less you notice an official on the court, that’s best for the crew," he said.

SOME ILH OFFICIALS don’t believe they’re circumventing the NFHS recommendation. They see advantage vs. disadvantage — verbiage that supposedly didn’t exist in the rule book and points of emphasis but is common knowledge to any competitive coach and player. And it is included in the language of the 2013 emphasis.

Tony Collazo, who has a long background as a referee (ILH) and assistant coach (OIA), seeks that balance. It requires a unified effort.

"It comes down to our pregame. As a crew, we’ve got to be consistent on hand checks and arm bars. It’s all about being consistent on the floor," Collazo said.

Eric Morales is a 23-year ILH official who was a standout player at University High. He believes in communicating with players — preventative officiating.

"We warn the players. We let them know that we’ll talk to them, but if you keep putting your hands on the guy who’s dribbling, we’ll call it," he said, noting that the definition of contact and impeding the dribbler is a gray area.

In one Lopes Classic game, Kalaheo’s Kupaa Harrison drove the baseline and appeared to be ridden slightly by the forearm of a defensive player. He scored, but there was no hand-check call.

"If he extends (the arm), then we have to call it," Morales said. "All referees are different. We don’t want to interrupt the flow of the game, but we have to enforce it. Hopefully, when the (regular) season starts, the players can pick it up."

"The hand-check rule is a Catch-22. It’s hard," Punahou assistant coach Mike Taylor said. "Since we started league, it’s been fairly consistent. I think our officials are doing a great job. Main thing is you want to keep the flow going rather than stopping the game. When we were at the Kaiser tournament, I remember the game against Lahainaluna, they were calling touch fouls and it was crazy."

Taylor prefers the old way.

ILH OFFICIALS are big part of the prep hoops food chain. They’ll be working at the state tournaments. The onus may be on them to change, but success often goes to teams that adapt fastest.

Kamehameha coach Greg Tacon, who has coached at Punahou and Moanalua, doesn’t even bother arguing semantics with officials.

"I can’t tell them how to call a game," the longtime coach said.

Instead, Tacon’s defensive-minded teams simply adjust to the officiating. Training any team to be armed for different styles of battle — that might just be the true emphasis after all.

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See video interviews with referees, coaches and players at hawaiiprepworld.com.