During a weeklong tryout, The Magazine's Ric Bucher experienced the life of an NBDL referee firsthand. Although he got mixed reviews, Bucher hasn't given up. We asked him how the tryout changed his perspective on the zebras.

No matter what happens with my whistle-carrying career, Jess Kersey forever will be part of it, beginning with my first decision -- lanyard or no lanyard.

You probably know Kersey as the veteran NBA ref who'd be a perfect stand-in for the Keebler Elf. I know him as the guy who first made me fully understand how much NBA refs care about getting it right, and how much it hurts when they don't.

As a sidebar to a story several years ago on the technology the NBA uses to monitor its refs, Kersey told me how he instantly knew he'd blown the call that gave Larry Johnson his famous four-point play and the Knicks an Eastern Conference Finals game victory over the Pacers. He walked the 20 blocks from Madison Square Garden to his hotel, he didn't sleep that night and the memory is a splinter forever imbedded in his conscience.  

Kersey attended the inaugural NBDL camp, where I joined a group of D-1, CBA and WNBA referees being trained for a potential NBA future during try-out games for the league's player candidates. As you'll discover in my first-person account for the latest Magazine, my year-long goal is to become worthy of officiating an NBA exhibition game next fall.

I never dreamed of being an NBA ref, but I can't resist a challenge. The league has made no promises, and based on my first performance at the NBDL camp in Sewanee, Ga., I have a long way to go.  

Kersey was there to test an injured Achilles tendon and offer guidance. He is a stickler for detail and precision, which is reflected in everything from the way he organizes his belongings in the locker room to how he leaves a hotel room neater than when he arrived. It is little wonder then that he was appalled at how I officiated my first game. While the rest of the officials-in-training called me a natural and dismissed my mistakes with a wave of their hand, Kersey gently made it clear that I was doing inestimable damage to the profession's honor.

Ric Bucher's Five Favorite NBA Refs: 1. Danny Crawford -- Excellent feel for the game, maintains control, never showboats. 2. Jess Kersey -- Does more with a silent stare than anyone I know. 3. Joe Crawford -- Curmudgeonly scowl can’t hide his love for the game, and his job. 4. Steve Javie -- Never a doubt who is in charge, as mascots and broadcasters can attest. 5. Dick Bavetta -- Wouldn’t he be your favorite uncle?

Putting his hands on my shoulders and looking me dead in the eye with the same long-faced expression he's pinned on coaches or players questioning one of his calls, he said mournfully, "Jess Kersey, NBA referee, was not made in a day. Remember that." Then he repeated it.  

A few weeks later I happened to be walking by the referees' locker room at a Thanksgiving-night Clippers-Nets game as Bill Spooner, another veteran ref I know, stuck his head out. We said hello and then he pulled me into the room to meet the rest of the crew, which happened to include Jess and Derek Richardson. Jess proceeded to tell them how in my first game I failed to blow the whistle when the ball went out of bounds on the very first possession.

The first quarter was such a blur, I had forgotten that. Spooner and Richardson looked at me questioningly.  

"Hey, it was obvious," I said, which broke up all three of them.  

That Clips-Nets game was scrappy and quick-paced, with a lot of yapping and aggressive drives to the rim. I watched admiringly as the crew kept it under control with only one technical foul, called in the first quarter by Richardson on Jeff McInnis. The writers sitting around me casually bashed the officials and their integrity, suggesting "they have a plane to catch" because they weren't making a lot of calls, but I saw it differently.   

One, I knew that they were drilled not to anticipate calls but to see the play through, no matter how much mid-air action there might be.

Two, I knew how hard it is to watch all that 100-mile-an-hour activity and not call something. The science of being an official includes everything from knowing what angles to take and what to look for, to keeping precise track of the shot clock, game clock, team fouls and timeouts. The art is understanding the flow of the game and knowing when blowing the whistle would violate the game's spirit.

Ric Bucher's Five Least-Favorite NBA Refs: 1. Ron Garretson -- Too much condescension and superior ‘tude. 2. Bennie Adams -- Way too quick with the Ts. 3. Bob Delaney -- Too much mirrored-glasses, jack-booted ex-highway patrolman. 4. Tommy Nunez -- Almost as tough to watch him as it is to watch MJ fall off his game. 5. Jim Clark -- Too combustible; goes from congenial to volcano in a flash.

I'll never forget the legendary Jake O'Donnell, now retired, tapping a live ball in the backcourt to save time. I don't remember the exact circumstances; I just remember how, technically, it seemed astonishing and yet, in the context of allowing the game to proceed uninterrupted, made perfect sense.  

The flip side, of course, is knowing the whistle must be blown on some plays, even when the culprit is not clear, because there's been too much contact not to make a call. That's how games become too physical. Sometimes the right call is simply the one that keeps the game under control.  

Richardson, Spooner and Kersey were all masters this particular night at balancing blowing their whistles and simply telling a player when he was getting out of line. At one point during the second quarter, Jess had had enough of the complaining, particularly from Clippers guard Corey Maggette. Coach Al Gentry read Kersey's body language, pulled Maggette and reminded all his players to leave the refs alone.  

Shortly thereafter, Kersey and Gentry stood near each other and, without making eye contact, discussed how they had resolved the issue without interrupting the game.   

Kersey's whistle hung by a lanyard from his neck as they chatted. That's unusual because most veteran refs -- Steve Javie and Ronnie Nunn among them -- work without one.

My whistle came without a lanyard, and I considered adopting the experienced look, until I saw Jess.  

If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail ric.bucher@espnmag.com.