Fans can go all-out the week of Dec. 17-22, with a holiday feast of 36 games taking place on the Suncoast Credit Union Arena hardwood. But if you're on the basketball version of a diet, don't worry. We've got you covered with a guide to the best games on the first three days of the tournament, so you can plan your hoops consumption accordingly.

Once Lehigh Senior High School's Delshawn Green basketball playing experience is over, he could probably write a best-selling book about it. Now a senior, he's experienced just about everything: the exultation of a run to the state finals, the horror of a teammate's slaying in a nightclub shooting and a head coaching change.
 
But through it all, there's been one constant: Each of the last three Decembers, Green and the rest of the Lightning have played in the Culligan City of Palms Classic, and this year will be no different.

University School (Fort Lauderdale) enters the 2018 Culligan City of Palms Classic as the defending champs, but the Sharks still have something to prove. Montverde Academy pounded University School in the championship game of the GEICO High School Nationals last spring, leaving Scottie Barnes, Vernon Carey Jr. and company one step short of a dream season.  

City of Palms sponsor Attorney Joe North is upping his support of the tournament by joining Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a presenting sponsor of the Culligan City of Palms Classic. Additionally, the firm has secured the naming rights for the new North Law Firm City of Palms Premiere.  

Culligan City of Palms Director of Officiating Kevin Hetherington, who's been a basketball referee for 40 years, returns to dish about the game from his unique perspective. The last time he joined us, we spoke about his approach to refereeing and how he handles conflict between players. Now, he talks about what happens when officials interact with coaches.


Q.  We've all seen coaches berate referees, but how can coaches work to build and repair trust with officials?

A.  Sometimes we will say, "Look, if coach so-and-so says something to you during the game, you really should pay attention to coach so-and-so, because there's a really good chance that coach so-and-so is correct." Some coaches are actually too fair, to be honest with you. They give us too much credit. We'll have coaches, and we'll think, "Man, if he would have complained about that play, he would have had a legitimate complaint, but he didn't say anything."
 
That's an exception to the rule. Most of the time we'll have coaches who are somewhere between pretty fair and very unfair. Unfair to the point that they think we care who wins, and they think we cheat, when in fact we could care less.


Q. You mentioned that there are camps that bring referees together during the offseason to help you guys prepare for the year ahead. What are some of the things you guys talk about in those camps?
 

A.   We discuss the latest rules and interpretations of rules, and new ways to think about plays and think about refereeing. We also think about how you're going to referee certain plays. So, for instance, a point of emphasis this year is looking at hook-and-hold plays. When I first heard that, I thought, "Hook and hold? What are they talking about?"
Well, there's a real trend toward flopping and faking. We have plays where players cut through the lane, for example, and a defender has an arm casually sticking out. The offensive player hooks their arm, and makes it look like the defensive player actually grabbed them or held on to them.
You would look at the player in real time and think, "Well, why would the offensive player who is trying to run by the defender, why would he intentionally get tangled up with a defender?" Well, they're intentionally getting tangled up with a defender because they're the ones who are instigating it.