quote:
Originally posted by NCref23 on 03-02-2000 03:19 PM
Hey. I dont know who has ever said that a ball can cause a foul....It is the action of the player in control of the ball who causes the foul. Consequently, I have always been told that the ball never causes a foul....
True, the ball itself doesn't "cause" a foul, but if the action of the player WITH the ball results in contact that places the opponent at a disadvantage, it can still be a foul. If a player pivots and turns into a legally positioned opponent, and the ball happens to strike him instead of the body/shoulder but still displace him, I'd call a foul (player control)--if that amount of contact would be a foul WITHOUT the ball, then it's probably a foul WITH the ball. At the same time, we should be prepared to determine whether the contact itself was incidental and had no bearing on the play. If the ball handler subsequently gets a clear shot at or drive to the hoop, I'd say it affected the play and should be called.
[This message has been edited by Todd VandenAkker (edited March 02, 2000).]