He Brings Personality Plus as a Basketball Official

To say John Starkins is a novelty among basketball officials is an understatement.

This is a man who drinks carrot juice to improve his eyesight, who boasts that he has never given a college coach a technical foul and who actually smiles while he officiates.

Starkins, 35, isn’t just a referee with a personality; he’s the busiest official in the Valley area. The Simi Valley resident works six nights a week during basketball season, officiating anything from NCAA Division II games to high school and recreation league games.

“I’m surprised he’s not doing Pac-10 games yet. For his ability, he should have moved up a lot farther than he has,” said Kelly Newell, recreation league coordinator at Mason Park in Chatsworth. “He’s the best referee in the Valley--without question. I’ve never seen anyone with better judgment.”

Said Hart High Coach Doug Michelson: “I’d like to have John every game, he’s such a good official. He has a great aptitude for the game.”

Starkins claims that playing basketball in college (at Brigham Young) and coaching the junior varsity team at Poly High has made him a better official.

“I understand what people are going through,” said Starkins, who averaged 36.9 points per games at Marshall High in 1969 to set a City scoring record, a mark that was broken last year by another Marshall player, Jerry Simon. “You can know every rule in the book, but if you don’t know how to handle people, I don’t think you can be a good official.

“It’s one thing to be competent and have good judgment, but along with being serious, you must develop a rapport with the players and coaches.”

At this, Starkins obviously has succeeded.

It’s not uncommon for him to emit a high-pitched cackle after an on-court wisecrack, or stop play for an “equipment repair” when he has to tie his shoe, or receive a pat on the behind from a player after a call.

“The man is a ham, a showman. You don’t run into a lot of officials who have that type of personality,” Newell said. “One minute a guy is yelling at him, and the next minute he’s joking with him. He goes a little farther than most referees.”

Starkins would move up to Division I officiating, but if the NBA called, he’d give it some thought.

And that’s no joke.