"Over the back"

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by KCRef

I may be wrong here, as I only just completed my first year of officiating, but could the coaches, players, and fans actually understand that contact is required in order to get the foul called when a player rebounds a ball from behind another player. Maybe the coach thought there was contact, and instead of telling his captain to tell the referee, "Please watch for the push from behind on the rebound," it is just easier to say, "Please watch the over-the back," and realize that the referee will know what they are talking about. Same thing goes for, "Please watch the fouling while reaching in," or "Please watch for the contact during that moving screen." Again, I could be wrong, but maybe the coach does understand that there has to be contact to get the foul, and maybe he saw it that way.

Coaches or players understand that contact is required or not is not the issue that I am talking about. There is nothing inherently illegal to make contact with a player's back. There is nothing illegal to reach in for the ball. Even if there is contact that does not mean you have a foul. You have to have displaced a player or cause some kind of advantage to have a foul. So that means the bigger kid that out jumps the smaller kid should not be called for a foul just because there is a little contact. You will find that they call for a foul when nothing illegal took place. But when you say "over the back" and they are not calling for any other kind of rebounding foul, you lose credibility with me at least. When they lose credibility, I stop talking to them soon after.

Peace