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Old Tue Apr 27, 2021, 01:53pm
BillyMac BillyMac is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bob jenkins View Post
I'm surprised "Technical foul for waving one's hands in front of a defensive player's face" wasn't one of the choices.
I realize that bob jenkins was just kidding, but for the greater good of the cause:

10-4-6-D: A player must not: Purposely obstructing an opponent’s vision by waving or placing hand(s) near his/her eyes. Note: Purposely diverting an opponent’s attention by waving is different than holding or waving the hands near the opponent’s eyes for the express purpose of obstructing the vision so that he/she cannot see.

2004-05 NFHS Basketball Rules Points Of Emphasis
Specific unsporting acts. The committee is concerned about the following specific unsporting acts. Coaches, players and officials must pay particular attention to these areas:
Face guarding. A new rule change that calls for a technical foul for face guarding regardless of whether or not the offended player has the ball calls attention to the problem. The NFHS first defined face guarding as illegal in 1913. The rules have essentially been unchanged and have received varying degrees of emphasis through the century. Face guarding is defined in rule 10-3-7d as purposely obstructing an opponent's vision by waving or placing hand(s) near his or her eyes. The penalty is a technical foul. Face guarding could occur with a single hand and a player's hand(s) do not have to be waving; the hand(s) could be stationary but still restrict the opponent's vision. The committee does not intend for good defense to be penalized. Challenging a shooter with a 'hand in the face' or fronting a post player with a hand in the air to prevent a post pass are examples of acceptable actions. The rule and point of emphasis is designed to penalize actions that are clearly not related to playing the game of basketball properly and that intentionally restrict vision. Often, that occurs off the ball or as players are moving up the court in transition.


I've only seen this activity by a single player, a high school friend of mine who, in gym class games (we called it gym back then, not physical education), always ended up guarding me and who always did this to me, always with two hands. It was so damn irritating that I often swatted his hands away like a mosquito. It really didn't block my vision much, but it was distracting, which was probably his intent, and it worked.

Every time I come across 10-4-6-D in the rulebook, I think of him from over fifty years ago. The NFHS should probably put a picture of him next to the rule in the rulebook.

Over fifty years of playing, coaching, and officiating, and I've never seen anybody come even close to doing this except for him.
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Last edited by BillyMac; Tue Apr 27, 2021 at 05:31pm.
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