protecting the ball

[ysong]

when a player take a shot, is he allowed to raise the non-shooting hand to protect the ball from being knocked off or blocked by defender? what if he keep shielding hand in his veritcal cylinder? any difference in NBA, NCAA and FIBA?

I remember the NCAA rules says that offensive players are not allowed to extend their elbows to protect the ball when dribble or make shots. But it also states that if players' arms stay in their vertical cylinder, they are absovled from any responsiblity when contacts occur, defensive players and offensive players alike. so I do not know which rule to apply in this case.

Thanks.

yaoxin