Post Play

[Jimgolf]

Originally Posted by btaylor64

This is hard because NFHS just puts this in their POE section every 1 out of 10 years, and college does not have great guidelines either.

This year's NCAA Women's POE on rough play has (IMHO) excellent and clear guidelines for what is permissible in post play.

Post Play
Post play is still too rough. Players are gaining too much of an advantage by holding and displacing their opponents. Coaches must teach players legal tactics while playing the post, and officials must penalize illegal tactics when they are observed.
a. Definition. A post player is defined in Rule 4-52 as any offensive or defensive player in the lane area with or without the ball with his or her back to the basket. The lane area includes the three-second lane (4-64) and approximately three feet just outside the lane.
An offensive post player becomes a ball handler when, while in the lane area, she turns and faces the basket with the ball or moves completely outside the lane area with the ball.
b. Legal activity. It is legal for a defensive player to place one or two body parts (hands or arm-bars) on the offensive post player provided no holding, displacing or illegal contact occurs. Legal contact occurs when offensive and defensive players are touching and both are maintaining a legally established position. However, when any legal contact occurs between post players to maintain a position, an official’s awareness should be heightened and he/she should be prepared to make a foul call when the contact becomes illegal.
c. Illegal contact. A foul shall be called when:
1. A legally established arm-bar is extended and displaces an opponent.
2. Displacement occurs from a locked and/or extended elbow.
3. A leg or knee is used in the rear of an opponent to hold or displace.
4. An offensive post player “backs-down” and displaces the defender once that defender has established a legal guarding position.
5. The offensive post player holds, hooks or displaces the leg or body of the defender.
6. An opponent is displaced from a legally established or obtained position.

Whether you agree with these points or not, it's pretty clear how the NCAA wants this handled. It would be nice to see something from the NFHS as clearly written as this.