Chase Shaw, 22, is the son of former NCAA Division I basketball official Curtis Shaw and has aspirations of following the same path.He can’t confirm that he was born with a whistle in his mouth. Nor can he say with certainty that his first article of clothing was black-and-white striped.
Regardless, Chase Shaw just may have been born to be a basketball official.
Chase is the son of Curtis Shaw, who grew up in Chattanooga and went on to officiate NCAA Division I men’s basketball for more than 20 years before becoming a coordinator of officials overseeing four DI conferences, including the Big 12.
Chase, 22, is in his third season of officiating local TSSAA games and his second calling junior college and NAIA games. He hopes one day to work a Final Four, something his father did seven times.
“Growing up around it, I’ve seen how much respect he’s gotten,” Chase said of his father. “It’s been a blessing for me to have a father that’s known for having done so much in the game. I’d like to keep the name in college basketball.”
Chase was born in Chattanooga but lived in Florida from ages 7 to 15 before moving to Indiana. Like his father did at McCallie, Chase played high school baseball and was good enough to be a college recruit.
Primarily a pitcher, he ended up signing with Central Alabama Community College, which was coming off winning the JUCO World Series in 2013. It turned out that Alexander City, Ala., wasn’t the place for him, so after a semester he transferred to Cleveland State. Ultimately, tearing his labrum for a third time got him thinking less about baseball and more about what he really loved.
The younger Shaw remembers the first game he called. It was at Brown Middle School. Gerald Pasley was the other official.
“It was nervewracking for sure,” Chase said.
Walt Kean is the supervisor and assigner for the Southeast Tennessee Basketball Officials Association. He has overseen local middle school officiating for the past 10 years and is in his third season as the high school assigner after succeeding 2012 TSSAA Hall of Fame inductee Leon Rash when he retired as the high school assigner.
Kean not only knows Curtis Shaw, he had him speak to the group of high school officials when he first took over the job.
As far as Chase goes, Kean has seen him come a long way in a short period of time.
“He’s gained credibility because he’s good at what he does,” Kean said. “At that age, you’ve got to be pretty good. One of the veteran coaches around here can eat some young guy alive. He can hold his own.”
Kean, who began officiating in 2000 and called junior college games in Tennessee and Georgia in addition to TSSAA games, said there are different mechanics for officials at the different levels, as well as some different rules. He noted that while not easy when calling a college game one night and a high school game the next, Chase handles the transformation well.
Chase said his most memorable high school game happened Dec. 29 when Cleveland hosted a holiday tournament. The 66-64 victory by Clarksville Northeast’s boys (16-6) is one of the fifth-ranked Blue Raiders’ two losses in 21 games.
“By far it was one of the most tremendous games I’ve called,” he said. “There was a lot of talent on the court. Both teams had three or four guys who could end up playing in college. The crowd was into it. That was a good atmosphere.”
Chase has his assignments for the rest of the season. Among them is a big Division II-AA East/Middle Region game Feb. 7 when top-ranked Brentwood Academy visits No. 2-ranked McCallie.
“I do believe in him,” Kean said, “or he wouldn’t be in the game.”
Chase said the person with the second-biggest impact on his officiating career has been NBA Developmental League referee J.B. DeRosa, who was calling college games in Ohio when he was a teenager. He’s the son of current college basketball and former NBA referee Joe DeRosa.
Dad has had the most influence, and in more ways than one. But even so, the Shaw name can only do so much.
“He helped me get into the game,” Chase said. “But once you get on the court, you have to do it. That lays on me. All I can really do is go on the court, act professional every night and show people it’s where I need to be. Then all the extra talk will go away.
“I have a passion for it. I’ve never been happier.”
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.