I think I know the answer to this - just want to be sure. Player A is driving to the basket and shoots. The shot is blocked cleanly by player B - it's clearly not going to go into the basket - then player B's follow through after the block causes some contact (not severe) on player A's shooting arm. Since the shot ended as soon as it was clearly not going into the basket, I deemed the resulting contact as inadvertent, since it bore no advantage/disadvantage. Correct interpretation?

Along the same lines, same situation, but after the block, player B's momentum carries his body into Player A while player A was still in the air, plowing him over. Clearly a foul. Because the shot was blocked prior to the contact, therefore causing the shot attempt to end, I assume this would not be a foul against a shooter as the shot had ended at the block. Just a common foul with ball out of bounds or bonus shots. Correct?

If you choose to rule that the contact is incidental in sitation 1, I don't think that the block would affect your decision (No foul, play on). In situation 2, I believe that you would have a shooting foul because the shooter has been fouled before returning to the floor. The block does not affect the call. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Rock'nRef

I guess I worded my situation wrong - by inadvertent, I meant that because I deemed the shot to be over, the contact had no effect on the play. Had the same contact occurred during the shot attempt (before the block), it would have been whistled as a foul. The key is whether the block caused the shot attempt to be over. If so, in my opinion, that contact had no effect on anything. If not, I guess I blew it.

The camp I attended this summer stressed the 80/20 rule. If a blocked shot is 80% block and 20% contact, ignore the contact. However, if the contact is severe, then you've got to get that one.

Any time a shooter is fouled before returning to the floor, you've got a foul on an airborne shooter. He is fouled in the act of shooting. The fact that the shot was blocked is irrelevant.

One rule of thumb I was once taught was 80% ball/20% contact on a blocked shot is a clean block. Any less ball/more contact and it becomes a foul.

With this thinking in mind, #1 could and probably should be ignored where #2 could and should be a foul. If A1 had not yet returned to the floor at the time of contact, it would be a shooting foul. A1 is a shooter from the time he starts the shooting motion until he's returned to the floor. The try ending does not change that point.

[Edited by Camron Rust on Oct 18th, 2004 at 12:52 PM]

BITS, you're too fast!!! :)

Thanks for the clarifications. Based on those answers I feel like I did the right thing for situation 1. And although situation 2 didn't actually happen, I would have gotten it wrong if it had. Now I know - it's good to plan ahead.