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Maybe this will help.....
From the 2004-05 rulebook--POE # 4A--Face Guarding:
-A new rule that calls for a technical foul for face guarding regardless of whether or not the offended player has trhe ball calls attention to the problem. The NFHS first defined face guarding as being illegal in 1913. The rules have essentially been unchanged and have received various degrees of emphasis through the century. Face guarding is defined in rule 10-3-7d as purposely obstructing an opponent's vision by waving or placing hand(s) near his or her eyes. The penalty is a technical foul. Face guarding could occur with a single hand and a player hand(s) do not have to be waving; the hands could be stationary but still restrict the opponent's vision. The committee does not intend for good defense to be penalized. Challenging the shooter with a hand in the face or fronting a post player with a hand in the air to prevent a post pass are examples of acceptable actions. The rule and the point of emphasis is designed to penalize actions that are clearly not related to playing the game of basketball properly and that intentionally restrict vision. Often that occurs off the ball or as players are moving up the floor in transition.
This sentence was included in the COMMENTS ON THE 2004-05 RULES REVISIONS too-- "Guarding a player's eyes should not be allowed as an effort to obstruct any player's movement and is an unsafe act.
So, did the hand in the face obstruct a player's movement? Was it an unsafe act? Judgment call.
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