Did the referee really ask that?

Let me set the stage: Shortly into the second half of the Charlotte 49ers' 72-68 win over George Washington, referee Mike Eades whistled the 49ers for a foul while the teams were battling for an offensive rebound. Eades claimed the foul was on George Washington player Lasan Kromah.

Before Kromah went to the line, Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz, as well as point guard DiJuan Harris, continued to ask Eades to make sure it was Kromah that was the player fouled. They believed it was another GW player.

Kromah was allowed to go ahead and shoot the first free throw, which he made. Lutz continued to tell Eades the wrong player was shooting free throws and that's when the most bizarre episode took place I have witnessed in the hundreds of college basketball games I have covered.

Before Kromah could take his next shot, Eades walked into the lane, stood in front of Kromah face-to-face and asked him if he was the player fouled. Kromah said 'Yes' and was allowed to take his second shot, which he hit.

Now under the rules, referees have a responsibility to determine whether the correct player is shooting free throws and are encouraged to look at replays to make sure the call is right. However, Wednesday's game was not on TV and there was no replay available.

By the rules, the matter should have ended there. No replay, no change in the call.

Instead, what Eades decided to do was this: Ask a player of a visiting team, standing in the middle of an arena of screaming fans, in a see-saw game to tell the world whether he intentionally was taking free throws that were meant for another player.

Now, I don't know Lasan Kromah. He may be the most honest college basketball in the world. But I do know this: Eades didn't know Kromah's character any better than I did. And interrogating players about whether or not they were fouled and should be shooting free throws in no way should be a part of the game. What answer would anyone expect to hear?

To be fair, I submitted a question to Eades after the game. According to rules, media may ask questions of officials but they must be submitted by a disinterested third party. I wrote down my question, which was this: "Did referee Mike Eades ask George Washington player No. 20 if he was the player that was fouled?" Tom Whitestone, the assistant athletic director for the 49ers, found a third party and submitted the question. And I got a reply.

Here is Eades' response in its entirety. I will let it speak for itself and you decide whether his answer describes actions that should be a regular part of college basketball games.

Eades: "Initially, we were all confident No. 20 was the player fouled. We lined up to shoot the free throw and he shot the first one. At that point, someone from the crew noticed Bobby (Lutz's) reaction. We conferred as a group. There was no monitor available. We then asked No. 20 if he was the shooter and he said he was. We accepted the answer and did the best we could."

THURSDAY UPDATE: I suspected this Wednesday night but waited to make sure it was correct before writing. A-10 assistant commissioner Stephen Haug confirmed that if a player did intentionally “shoot” a free throw for another player, an unsportsmanlike technical could be assessed, or the player could be given a warning.

So, had Kromah actually admitted to not being the player fouled (he was asked AFTER he had taken one free throw), and was being completely honest, he risked receiving a technical foul for his honesty. Again, what answer would be expected?