Question about charging

[craiglaw]

I have really enjoyed reading this forum. I have learned a lot and I understand the game and the rules much better because of the discussions and insights of this group about the rules.

I am a fan of women’s college basketball, and I have a question about charging/blocking. I don’t know if the rule changed this year for the college men, but it did for the women. As a fan I was not clear on how the change affected the call, but at the start of the season charging was called often in many of the games. One thing I noticed was that charging would be called if the defensive player had position under the basket – or behind the basket – and the offensive player crashed into the defender after making a shot. I had not seen this called before. As the season progressed, there were fewer and fewer charging calls either because the players were used to the new rule, or the ref’s reverted back. It is always hard to judge a charging call from the stands, so I usually think that the refs got it right.

My questions for you experts are: (As it applies to the women’s college game,) is a defensive player allowed set up (establish position) where the driving player will land after a lay up when driving to the basket – and get this call? Sometimes the offensive player is in the air when the defender sets, which does not seem to me to be a charge. What is the rule? What rule change caused so many charging calls at the start of the season – and why are there so many fewer now.

I look forward to your comments.