BIG EAST CONFERENCE BANNED JIM HANEY

The Big East Conference has banned veteran college basketball official Jim Haney of Palmer Township and another veteran official from working in its postseason tournament in New York over errors made by Haney and his partners in a game between Louisville and West Virginia earlier this season.

The New York Post reported Friday that Haney, an Easton High grad, and fellow referee Mike Kitts will not be allowed to work in the Big East tournament which begins March 9 at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Contacted by e-mail Friday afternoon, Haney, who said he has worked 12 Big East tournaments in the past, confirmed the newspaper report but declined further comment.

Dan Gavitt, Big East Associate commissioner for basketball, had no comment on the matter in the Post article, telling the paper that disciplinary matters regarding officials are handled internally.

The third member of the officiating crew for that Jan. 30 game, Lee Jones, is committed to working the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

The Big East acknowledged "procedural and communication errors" the day after Louisville's 77-74 loss at West Virginia.

According to accounts, a loose ball sailed out of bounds with 6.7 seconds left directly toward the face of Kitts, who was standing under the Louisville basket. Because Kitts ducked and shielded his face, he was unable to make the possession call, and neither Jones or Haney, stationed near the 3-point arc, were in a position to make the call. According to the NCAA rule book, officials are to use the alternating possession arrow in such situations, which would have given the ball to Louisville.

Instead, Haney and Kitts reviewed the monitor at the scoring table. By rule, video reviews are not to be used to determine possession.

After Haney and Kitts, who received the Naismith Award as the nation's best referee last season, huddled, West Virginia was given possession. Although Louisville associate coach and former Holy Cross head coach Ralph Willard told the Louisville Courier-Journal after the game that Haney told the Cardinals bench that he saw the ball go off a Louisville player, no signal was made until after officials checked the monitor.

"They were trying to see who it went off of, which is illegal," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said after the game.

"One of the procedure errors that was made was not clearly communicating possession of the ball," Gavitt said after the Big East's admission on Jan. 31.

Pitino, who was unhappy with several late calls in that game, told the Post he has "no ax to grind with those three officials.

"I think officials in the Big East, which is by far the toughest league to work, do a great job," Pitino told the newspaper. "But there have been a lot of errors this year that need to be addressed."

Neither Haney, Kitts nor Jones has worked another Louisville game since the incident.

The Big East also admitted to late officiating errors by a separate crew in Louisville's 80-77 loss at Seton Hall on Jan. 21. In that game, officials allowed a Pirates player -- who had stepped across the end-line while attempting an inbounds bass after hearing an inadvertent whistle with 0.7 seconds left to -- to step back out-of-bounds and make the pass again.

Source: Morning Call