Ball-handlers / Freedom of Movement

[Remington]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

It has actually been the "rule" for as long as I can remember. It was just that way too many officials (nearly all, me included) were doing a piss poor job of calling it. No one was going to do it and be the only one doing it. They tried points of emphasis for years and got no movement in what was being called. They really didn't want to go to absolutes but pretty much everyone was ignoring the directives year after year. So, they simply changed the wording to make what should been a foul all along more set in stone without latitude to ignore it under what was really a poorly applied advantage/disadvantage philosoply. There was an advantage, just one that was less blatant than some fouls.

I don't think we were piss poor as you say, we were trained(by very high level officials in some cases) to use advantage/disadvantage and then modified further to RSBQ on these calls. I think the game is back to the correct way, but every camp I attended the last 10 years (prior to last season) still wanted you to only enforce RSBQ. Then, the NCAA changed their stance and we were told to call automatics in collegiate conferences and the NFHS subsequently followed. I like the game better now, but there is still some RSBQ to determine whether or not we have a true "hot stove" touch. The NCAA D1 coaches put out a video stating they want these philosophical changes (rules have been there) and acknowledged they need to adjust but really want the officials to call the fouls as it will make the game better in the long run.