Question

[Brad]

I agree with fanboy ... er ... bball_junkie -- the call is the same at every level - it's either a foul or it isn't.

I've heard of the 80/20 thing and I've used it myself to get across the point that just because their is some body contact, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is a foul. If the defensive player mostly blocks the ball, but, in doing so, there is also some body contact, let it go.

Most officials that I see calling fouls on this type of play say "He got him with the body" -- that's when you know it is a BS foul.

80/20, advantage/disadvantage, just call the freaking foul, etc. -- it's all saying the same thing, just in different ways.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Brad

80/20, advantage/disadvantage, just call the freaking foul, etc. -- it's all saying the same thing, just in different ways.

Amen!

And the simpler explanations are also the best imo. All you're gonna get from newer officials is glazed eyes when you get into some of the terminology now being used at some camps. Each level of play has different levels of expectation also when it comes to the amount of physical contact that comprises a foul. At higher levels, you're usually expected to play through a heckuva lot more contact that might get called a foul(and rightly so) at, say, the JV level.