Unsportsmanlike?

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by Rev.Ref63

I agree that close guarding isn't illegal; however, I was leaning more toward a "taunting" unsporting foul. A1 was literally "in the face" of B1; virtually nose-to-nose. The fact that he maintained this posture even when his team was on offense seemed unsporting to me.

It's screening or guarding whether offense or defense, and perfectly legal, unless there was anything in the neighborhood or taunting or non-basketball stuff such as facial expressions or vocabulary that might be non-basketball.

I'd watch closely for goading and that kind of thing. Also, if that close play is maintained during a dead ball, I'd be on top of it, warning, separating, and maybe whacking. If A1 has a reputation for being a hothead, and it appears as though B1 is trying to just frustrate A into fouling or worse, you could call contact pretty closely as a way to back B up a little. But if A is just a really good player that B is trying to get out of the game, I think it's completely legal and cant be penalized in any way.

[jdw3018]

Originally Posted by rainmaker

If A1 has a reputation for being a hothead, and it appears as though B1 is trying to just frustrate A into fouling or worse, you could call contact pretty closely as a way to back B up a little.

I'm sure this isn't what you mean, but I'd hate to think you would penalize B1 because of A1's inability to control his temper...

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by jdw3018

I'm sure this isn't what you mean, but I'd hate to think you would penalize B1 because of A1's inability to control his temper...

What I meant was that if the guarding player (B or A??) is just trying to goad the hot head into losing his temper, rather than really trying to play basketball, I think it's borderline. Keep a close eye on it.

[Bad Zebra]

Originally Posted by rainmaker

If A1 has a reputation for being a hothead, and it appears as though B1 is trying to just frustrate A into fouling or worse ...

I used this exact tactic in my son's middle school game I was coaching several years ago. The subject was a big thug with a hot head and everyone knew it. I even went so far as to have a player shadow him when he went to the water fountain. He got extremely frustrated by the third quarter and fouled out. Totally neutralized his size and skill. His coach told me after the game that almost every team they played did the same thing. He ended up playing soccer by the time he got to high school.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Bad Zebra

I used this exact tactic in my son's middle school game I was coaching several years ago. The subject was a big thug with a hot head and everyone knew it. I even went so far as to have a player shadow him when he went to the water fountain. He got extremely frustrated by the third quarter and fouled out. Totally neutralized his size and skill. His coach told me after the game that almost every team they played did the same thing. He ended up playing soccer by the time he got to high school.

Seems to me this tactic could easily backfire if you have a decent enough coach; especially after one or two times.