For Official, Second Look Is Like First : McJunkin Still Has Ellison Goaltending on Richardson’s Shot

Willis McJunkin has seen the videotape and has no regrets.

“I don’t have any qualms about my call whatsoever,” said McJunkin, a Pacific 10 Conference official whose goaltending call Sunday against Louisville’s Pervis Ellison gave UCLA a 77-75 victory. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

McJunkin said from his home in Northern California that, in his opinion, Pooh Richardson’s game-winning shot was at its zenith when Ellison deflected it.

According to Frank McIntyre, supervisor of officials for the Pac-10, a shot is considered to be making its downward arc when it reaches the apex of its flight.

“From that point on, if it’s hit, it’s automatically goaltending as long as, in the opinion of the official, it had a chance to go in,” he said.

“It’s a fine line, but it’s a definition. We have to say, ‘Where does (the downward arc) begin and where does (the ascent) end?’ ”

However, the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. rule book makes no mention of a shot’s zenith, stating only that “the ball may not be touched while it is on its downward flight . . . and has the possibility of entering the basket.”

And Steve Miletich, who was the officials’ observer Sunday and reviewed the film for the Pac-10, seemed to question McJunkin’s controversial call.

“It appeared in slow motion that it might have been a good block,” he said. “(But) you hate to condemn the guy. The official has to make the call immediately.”

Fewer than 10 seconds remained when Richardson chased down a loose ball along the left sideline, drove toward the left corner and fired up an air ball from about 18 feet out.

In the scramble for the rebound, the ball hit several players before popping out to Richardson, who charged toward the hoop after he shot and took the rebound just outside the paint.

With time running out, Richardson quickly let loose about a six-foot shot, only to have the 6-foot-9 Ellison rise to deflect it.

McJunkin, positioned behind Richardson in the corner, signaled that the shot was good.

“I feel the same as when I made the call,” McJunkin said. “We work on instincts, obviously, and when I see the play and I look at it and I react to it, I think that (No.) 42 (in) red goaltends, in my opinion.”

Of course, in the opinion of Louisville Coach Denny Crum, Ellison did not goaltend. Crum reviewed the videotape Monday.

His verdict?

“Bad call,” he told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “It was strictly a judgment call. The thing that upset me about it is, you don’t ever see a call like that determine the outcome of a game.”

But if the official believes that it’s goaltending, what’s he to do?

“It’s a no-win situation, which we are faced with every time we go on the floor,” McJunkin said. “You don’t like to have anything end in controversy, but it’s, ‘Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.’

“We just react.”

Was McJunkin out of position?

According to Crum, it wasn’t McJunkin’s call to make because he was positioned along the baseline.

“It’s the outside officials’ call because they have better angles and perception,” Crum said.

McJunkin, however, said that he was the middle official on the play and that Booker Turner was the lead official and was positioned under the basket.

And Miletich said: “The right man made the call.”

McJunkin, 50, has officiated major college games for more than 17 seasons. He has been assigned to the NCAA tournament six times and was part of the crew that worked the Villanova-Memphis State semifinal game at the Final Four in 1985.