"is it a foul"

[JRutledge]

I am going to have to know many things. If the contact is slight, I am going to leave it alone. But I am also going to consider where did the ball go? Did it go in or did it go in a direction that neither player would get the rebound? I also want to know who got the rebound if there is one to get? I also want to know, what kind of contact is the player behind him is creating if any?

I obviously am not going to expect you to give me an answer to any of these, but several things are going to go thru my mind. And if in no way the players actions are considered rough, or if the action did not affect the play, I pass. With a player that is going to box out, there is going to be some contact, it is not the contact that I am worried about, it the affect on the play it creates. If a rebounder backs out by pushing a player behind him and does not displace the player, I got nothing. If that same player pushes him completely out of the way for either himself to get the rebound or an opponent, I got a foul.

The problem with most non officials is that they see contact regardless of severity and want a foul. But the reality if that is the case we would have 5 or 6 fouls on one play. We are obviously not going to call that many, but you call the ones that affect the play. That is all advantage/disadvantage is. And that is why "Incidental Contact" is in the rulebook