Yet another Block vs. Charge Thread

[Dan_ref]

Originally posted by egausch
The Blarge (or is it Chock ) call certainly consumes a lot of forum bandwidth. Yet the current rules (NFHS) appear to be very clear. We all know the appropriate sections so I won't repeat them. Setting aside the "Where on the court did it occur?" issue, why is there such confusion?
As a continuation of a previous reply, it seems to me that "time and distance" have a definate bearing on who has the "greater responsibility", when a defensive player takes a "legal guarding position" directly in the offensive player's path. Yet the rules clearly state if the defense is there first with legal position, the greater responsibility is on the offense to avoid the contact. But reaction times are finite! Many times the offense can't possibly avoid the contact. The rules seem to encourage contact with the benefit of getting opposing players in foul trouble. Does this seemingly unbalanced situation contribute to the confusion?
Considering this, my main question is to the veterans out there. It used to be that "time and distance" DID matter. Why did the rules folks change it?
Without this, officials have no room to apply their best judgement to these calls. Our legal system is full of words like "reasonable"..., granting jurys and judges the necessary room to use their best judgement.
Signed,
Confused (EG)

Wha? OK, I'l try:

1. The block/charge is a source of much discussion simply
because it emphasises a basic problem in officiating
basketball. Who fouled who (whom?) is sometimes a matter
of your perspective. So we work hard at staying in our
primaries, communicating with partners, etc, all that
good stuff. A blarge means a complete breakdown, sorta
like your shooting guard drilling a 25 footer into your
opponent's basket.

2. The rules do not "encourage" contact, they just specify
what contact is legal and what is not. Of course they
then take a huge eraser and completely blur the line between
these two with advantage/disavantage, but that's OK.

3. Maybe I haven't been at this long enough but I do not
recall a time when time & distance was to be used when
determining block/charge and torso to torso contact involving the player with the ball.

4. Officials are encouraged to use judgement at all times
when looking at contact, see my comment #2.