PORTLAND basketball referee Jeremy Morton’s journey has continued on its upward trajectory over the past couple of weeks, with two big announcements – his selection to the NBL1 development panel as well as to referee the upcoming under-18s national championships next week.

Morton said the call-up to referee NBL1 – Australia’s second-highest level of basketball – came about as a result of his success in the Big V last season.

“I was refereeing division one in the Big V last season, and managed to get selected to officiate their grand final match… and from there I was invited to go do some practice matches for NBL1,” he said.

“I had someone coaching me during those practice matches, and ultimately, I was lucky enough to be one of the four referees they had there to be selected to the development panel.”

The development program runs for a total of two seasons, with the end goal being to become a permanent part of the NBL1 refereeing contingent.

Morton said he is being careful not to rest on his laurels, saying that it’s a “cut-throat” endeavour once you reach the upper echelons of refereeing.

“You’re not promised two years, you may only get one and they might say you’re not good enough… nothing is guaranteed,” he said.

“There’s a lot of preparation that goes into it, just as coaches and players spend time watching film and going over their positionings in different spots, we do the same thing as refs.

“It’s all about being able to read the play and anticipate where we need to be on the court to be able to see the play properly, so if there’s contact we have the best chance at making the right call.”

And much like how players who are just taking a step up learn from the more experienced players around them, Morton said he hopes to do the same thing alongside some of the most well-respected officials in the country.

“I’ll be working alongside guys who have refereed WNBL and NBL games, it’s some pretty elite company and to be honest I’m just happy to be there,” he said.

“There’s a real desire to earn the respect of these guys who have been doing it for a long time… you need to build relationships and most importantly you need to build trust.

“That’s my number one priority, building their trust in me as a referee.”

He added that the standard of basketball takes another significant leap from Big V to NBL1, with many NBL and WNBL players playing in the competition.

“Because it’s the off-season for those players, a lot of them end up playing in these competitions during their break,” he said.

“And it’s not just the players, I was at a tournament recently where Andrew Gaze was coaching… in terms of basketball royalty it doesn’t get much bigger than him in Australia.

“It can be intimidating, but at the same time most of these guys have great respect for the game and for the officials… I know Gaze for instance is big on telling his players not to talk to the refs because that’s his job, and when he does have an issue, he approaches it with respect.”

As for the national championships, Morton said that opportunity also came as a result of his work with the Big V in the grand finals.

“It’s icing on the cake for me really, my main goal has always been to get in to the NBL1 program, but having the opportunity to do this as well is fantastic,” he said.

“The aim on an individual level is to try and earn that gold medal game, once again there’s a lot of scouting that goes into it from our perspective.

“And while you acknowledge the fact that these kids are looking to develop into potentially professional basketball players, and there will be possibly NBA scouts and college basketball scouts there, the number one focus is on doing your own job and letting the outcome take care of itself.”

As for the future, the number one goal for Morton is to continue to prove himself at an NBL1 level, but he said that he is focused on staying present in the moment.

“I’m just taking it game by game and looking to improve from one week to the next… it would be good to get another year, but it all comes down to performance so that’s what I’m focused on.”

The 2023 NBL1 South season got underway over the weekend, with Morton officiating in the Ballarat Miners v Melbourne Tigers women’s match, while the under-18 national championships to get started this Sunday and conclude on April 16 in Brisbane.