"contacting" the free thrower before ball hits rim..

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

I'm not seeing how this would bother the free throw shooter as the ball would be long gone prior to a defender being able to put himself in this position.

If it were an effective way to "bother" a shooter, it would also affect jump shooters. But I've yet to see anybody employ that tactic as a way to disturb jump shooters.

I was telling Bryan that a player breaking the plane with his A.. before the ball hits can bother a FT shooter but it isn't disconcertion under the rules because the ball is gone.( He wanted to know if it could be disconcertion.) We know that many good Ft shooters will hold their follow through with a lean forward until ball hits. If you come into the lane and break the FT plane sitting/squatting on my knee before the ball hits that will likely piss me off aka disturb/bother me as i consider it cheap. It's not disconcertion because it has no effect on the FT going in or not. Ball long gone. That is what i was telling Bryan. If your heels were just pass the FT line in that example its a violation now under the new rule. Somebody decided that that bothered the FT shooter…even though the ball is also long gone when the player enters the FT semi circle. My point is simply that if it is enough of a problem to call it a violation for entering the FT semi circle they probably ought to make it a violation for breaking the plane. That can cause the same type of issues.
Again, i wouldn't have the rule because i don't ever see it. somebody must be though…maybe...