[Back In The Saddle]

I'm not really in either camp. My take...

The NCGS is a communication tool whose best use is clarification. Like most other communication in our game, it is best used sparingly. There are two situations I commonly find it useful.

1. I know the defender and/or coach is looking for a count, but it isn't there. I will bust out this signal to stop them wondering whether I'm paying attention. Not only does it make my life easier, but it gives the defender definitive information about why I don't have a count.

2. Sometimes I'll have a count, but the distance is "only just" six feet. It doesn't take much movement by either player to break distance. So if the ball handler breaks distance, and the guard quickly reestablishes it, I'll use this signal to clearly communicate that.

Neither situation happens very often, so I don't use the signal very often. Many games I never use it at all.

I like the NCGS. For years we argued that everyone should know "if I'm not counting, it's not six feet" and "if I switch hands, it's a new count". But if those arguments were really true, why did we ever have to make them?