[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

... Just like we do not have rules specifically about a dribbler using their arm to push off or shield a defender, but if there is contact and displacement we consider rightfully so a foul on the ball handler.

We don't?

10-7-5: A player must not use the forearm and/or hand to prevent an opponent from attacking the ball during a dribble or when throwing for goal.

Like almost all other fouls, this is subject to advantage/disadvantage.

Contact alone may trigger advantage/disadvantage; displacement would be the cherry on top of the hot fudge sundae.

I normally think of displacement as involving moving an entire body from point A to point B (as in illegal boxing out), but it certainly could mean displacement of a body part, like a defender's arm/hand.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I'm real big on not allowing a dribbler to use the non-dribbling arm to intentionally make contact and ward off a defender. It almost always provides the dribbler with some type of a slight, but still illegal, advantage, like preventing a reach-in attempt at a steal, adding some slight extra layer of illegal protection for the ball. If I decide to pass on a player control foul in this scenario, at the next opportunity I will usually advise such a dribbler to, "Cut it out". In forty years of working middle school games, especially "junior varsity" middle school games, I've heard a lot of coaches complain that dribblers can't intentionally hold out their non-dribbling arm to ward off a defender and to protect the ball, to which I've replied, "Yes they can, until the dribbler intentionally contacts the defender, or the defender illegally contacts the dribbler. No contact, no foul".