i am from Sydney and referee 3 nights per week. I am confussed as to what a good definition of a charge or block is. i dont even have a good, clear rule book explanation. can any1 help me? Why is it that in the rule book (the australian one) there is such a small definition for the most complicated rule in basketball?

Toby, what exactly are you confused by with the charge (known as player control foul) vs block? If you have been refing 3 nights per week how have you been calling that situation? That is probably the best way to answer your questions. If you "officaite the defense", the player control/block call is a lot easier to make.

From a coach's standpoint, it's very easy. If my team is on defense, then the call should be a charge. If my team is on offense, then all calls should be blocks. :D :D :D

It takes officials to make a simple rule like that complicated. ;)

Seriously, what Travelin Man has said is good advice and is consistent with many of the other officials here. Watch the defense and you'll see the positioning and timing of the players better both prior to and as the contact is occuring. That increases the likelihood of making the correct call.

In fact, this little tip of following the D has helped me become a better coach, seeing the play develop better and giving me clearer information on what we needed to work on as a team.

Thanks Cougar. And remember good officials strive to be in the right position to make the correct call. So we are in an even better position than the coach adn fans to make the call.

A player control foul is committed by a player while they are in control of the ball or are an airborne shooter.

In the former case, when a defender moves into the path of a dribbler and contact occurs, either player may be responsible for the contact, but the greater responsibility is that of the dribbler if the defender has obtained a legal guarding position, i.e.,INITIALLY, both feet planted and facing the dribbler before contact occurs(defender may then be sideways without both feet planted as the dribbler continues in his path). Also, if the dribbler is able to get his head and shoulders past the defender's torso, the foul is on the DEFENDER. Otherwise, it is a player control foul.

In the latter case -- airborne shooter -- it is important that the defender obtains legal guarding position (both feet planted firmly on floor and facing airborne shooter)BEFORE player is airborne or it is a block. If LGP is obtained before shooter is airborne, it is a player control foul.

That is pretty much it in a nutshell. Hope this helps. I'm certain my fellow officials will have much to add to this, but I am trying to be brief as possible so as not to confuse. A little bit at a time to comprehend.

Not necessarily.

JR, please elaborate.

First of all, the contact may be incidental. So there may not be a foul at all. Secondly, the dribbler could push off (clear out) with the free arm, and this would not be a foul on the defender. It would be a PC.

Flagrant?
Intentional?

You have such a way with words!

The other thing to remember about charging is that the rule may be short, but understanding it requires understanding a number of related concepts, such as legal guarding position, rules governing contact in general, verticality, etc. So a number of rules come into play on this, as with many other calls in basketball.

The book is hard to understand when you go looking for one rule to explain something like block-charge, because it isn't as simple as one rule.

Could be flagrant if the clear out is severe enough, but most players are savvy enough not to do that but rather try to "hide/conceal" the push. Intentional? Never seen that one called on the offense. More commonly called on the defense. But then again I'm originally from NY - so lets get that out of the way.

Toby - are you lurking? You could be learning something here. Oh well, hope he hasn't gone on a walkabout like Croc Dundee. <grin>

A dribbler may get his head and shoulders by a defender's torso, but if the defender had established AND maintained a legal guarding position before the contact, and the ensuing contact is now ON the defender's torso, then you gotta call a charge(PC) on the dribbler.

See NFHS rule 10-6-2- <i>If a dribbler, without contact, sufficiently passes an opponent to have head and shoulders in advance of that opponent, the greater responsibility for subsequent contact is on the opponent."</i> Note that it says "greater responsibility", and not "sole" responsibility. The foul is NOT always automatically on the defender, iow.

Make sense?

JR, thanks for the elaboration on that point. I'd like to add that if the defender remains stationary and vertical, but the dribbler manages (through some contortion) to get head and shoulders past the torso and causes contact that knocks both players to the floor.... PC.

After reading your post and assuming you are correct...then you can take the head and shoulders guideline and throw it out the door.