By the book, if the contact was on the hand after the ball left the shooter's hand, or contact elsewhere (e.g., arm, face), it is a foul.
Now practically speaking, what level is this? How much contact? When? Where? At the varsity level the hit will have to be pretty hard on a hand/forearm or affect the shot, otherwise I hold my whistle. (I whistle every touch of the face I see, but the focus here is on the hand.) Last year in a middle school game the shooter's hand was hit at the bottom of her arc (i.e., well after the ball left), and contact was minimal. The coach was right there yelling for a foul -- I told him to get real. But at that level it does take less contact to trigger the whistle.
The key is to officiate to the level of play.
|