[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

The is a big difference between, getting to the spot late when trying to draw a charge, and undercutting.

Getting there late is nothing more that a blocking foul and can either be a CF or PF against a player in the Act of Shooting.

Undercutting is an all together different animal. Undercutting is a deliberate attempt to seriously hurt another player. It is almost always done by the defender stepping into the airborne player's (ABP's) path with the defender having his back to the ABP so that the ABP's knees hits the defender in his back (in effect taking the ABP's feet our from under him) and causes the ABP to somersault over the defender. Undercutting should always (with J. Dallas Shirley) be considered a Flagrant Personal Foul (FPF). In fact if my memory serves me correctly, years ago, undercutting was addressed in the Rules Book as a FPF; I think it was during the NBCUSC era.

Suprisingly, I have had only one defender undercut an ABP in 41 years of officiating: a boys' H.S. jr. varsity game and this was in the late 1980's, long after the NBCUSC was split into the NFHS and NCAA Men's/Women's Rules Committees. I did not hesitate to charge him with a FPF. There was barely three feet outside the Endlines and I didn't thing the shooter was going to get up, let alone shoot his free throws. The defender's HC didn't like the call but he should have been thankful that his player had not seriously hurt the opposing player.

MTD, Sr.