[zebraman]

Originally posted by ChuckElias

Junker, the reason the double foul is not called very often is that one of the fouls is ususally clearly first. If we call the first foul, we go a long way to cleaning up rough play. Call the defender's knee in the butt and you eliminate the forearm push-off from the offensive player. Call the swim stroke on the offensive post player and you eliminate the reach over the shoulder by the defender.

A double foul is almost never an isolated event. Stuff has led up to it that we've missed or let go. Grab the first foul in the post and you don't need the double foul.

For the most part, I agree with Chuck. If you are calling a double foul very often, you're missing what instigated the rough play. However, once in a great while, a double foul can be your best friend. I had one last year where I had called an off-ball foul on each post player in successive possessions, but they continued to lock horns the next time down the floor. They might not have got the message when I called a double foul, but each coach got it loud and clear and promptly removed those two players from the game. The rest of the night was uneventful.

Z