Around 7, I go and grab breakfast. I try to have a bigger breakfast, because Ive usually burned so much from the night before. After breakfast, Ill come back and handle anything thats needed at home, which puts me around 9:30. At that point, I'll start getting ready for the game itself. Ill look at any kind of NBA memos that came out from the previous night, and Im also looking at different rules, interesting plays that may have happened in any of those games.
Around 11, we have a day-of-game meeting, and thats typical in both the G League and the NBA, where we get together, talk about what we need to do, go over our fundamentals, and begin bonding as a crew. Well typically all go out and get something to eat for lunch, and Ill have something lightmaybe a caesar salad. Then Ill go back to my room, iron my clothes for the arena, and take a nap. I also like to meditate to get my mind calm and ready for what I have to undertake in the evening for the game. Around 5, we leave for the arena as a crew, and when we get to the locker room, its just business as usual. Stretching, doing our check-ins, going over what we went over earlier in the day.
Theres a lot going on there, starting with you waking up at 4:45 in the morning. How long has that early wakeup time been part of your routine?
Ive always been a morning person. When we did two-a-days in college, they started at 5 or 5:30. Ive just kept that going. I wanted to add more hours to the day. By getting up that early, Ive added, on average, another two or three hours for things I need to get done. And I like having the gym as the first thing I knock out.
Also, a lot of times when Im going city to city, I usually catch the first flight out of the city Im in. What that usually means is a 6 a.m. flight, which puts me up super early anyway. Its a combination of both of those things, but its definitely the norm now.
What about the days when youre not working a game?
It differs a little, but I still get up at 4:45 and hit the gym pretty soon after that. The rest of the daily preparation is pretty similar too. You never know what may have occurred the night before in a game, any kind of memos that may have come out, and you want to stay sharp with that stuff. Youre always learning in this profession. If youre not trying to get better and learn, the game will get so far ahead of you.
Im curious how the rigors of playing basketball compare to reffing it. What are you doing during the game to stay physically and mentally sharp, and whats your post-game plan?
Youre pretty tired during the game. I try to drink at least one bottle of water in the first and third quarters, as well as halftime. In the second and fourth quarters, Ill usually mix it half-and-half with Gatorade. After the game, I continue to hydrate and watch tape in the locker room. Sometimes, the crew will go and have dinner together; I try to have a pretty heavy meal at that point, because I ate light earlier in the day and want to replenish what Ive expended, since we usually run around for 2-4 miles per game. After that, I head back to the room, watch a little more tape, and get ready for the next city.
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NBA Referee: The Real-Life Diet of Phenizee Ransom - GQ
