[ChuckElias]

Mike, the amount of contact that you can "let go" will vary from game to game. If your players can play through small amounts of contact, then you can no-call that and let them finish their plays. If the players are violating or losing control of the ball due to the contact, then you obviously need to put a whistle on it. You'll begin to develop a feel for the kind of game you have.

However, if players are hammering each other in the post, that probably needs a whistle. We're constantly being told that rough play is a point of emphasis. Well, that game was your chance to work on "rough play" calls. If the defender puts a knee in the offensive player's butt, grab that foul. If the offensive player "seals off" the defender by using a stiff-arm or if he moves the defender's arm in order to receive a pass, call that foul. Those calls help to keep the "knuckleheads" under control.

Finally, dead ball contact -- if intentional -- is a technical foul. Without seeing the play in front of the benches that you described, I can't tell you if you should've had a whistle or not. But if you have two knuckleheads who just want to bang on each other, and one of them shoves the other clearly after the whistle -- that might be a great time to send a message. Now if they just bumped shoulders on their way back to the court, then you were absolutely right to let it go. But if there was an intentional push, I might grab that and send the message that if they don't get under control, they won't play long.