I stayed out of this thread for a while b/c I really didn't know what to think about some of the posts. But after looking through it again, I think I have to pipe up. The original post asks if some of us rely too heavily on the concept of advantage/disadvantage. Another post says "A/D is tough, but sometimes you have to use it." In other threads recently, I've read things like, "Contact is a foul. Call it by the book."
Folks, in contact situations, you
can't rely too heavily on advantage/disadvantage. You don't "have to use it" sometimes, you have to use it
all the time. Why? Because unlike some people's views, contact is
not a foul. If you're really calling it by the book, then you are using advantage/disadvantage. Read the definition of "Foul" (FED 4-19-1, includes the phrase "
contact. . .which hinders an opponent. . .") or the definition of "Incidental Contact" (FED 4-27-1, "
contact. . .which is permitted and is not a foul; NCAA 4-38-1, "
contact shall not constitute a foul" or 4-38-3, "
contact that does not hinder the opponent. . .".)
The very definitions of "foul" and "incidental contact" rely on the concept of advantage/disadvantage. This does
not mean that we just let stuff go for some reason, and allow a contest to devolve into a rock fight. What it does mean is that you watch the whole play and decide if either player was placed at an
unfair disadvantage by any contact.
If you simply call a foul on every noticeable bit of contact, you will have no players left to finish the game. (To be honest, it might be kinda cool to see the last two players in a game each get their 5th foul on a blarge
)
Advantage/disadvantage is the
heart of basketball officiating. Understand it and apply it properly and your games will be much smoother and better for it. Disregard it and you will be doing 5th/6th rec leagues exclusively for your entire career, b/c no one will trust you with a HS game.