Principle Of Verticality

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by EricKit
One more thing, if someone is jumping and bends forward to jump, which is a natural position to take in a jump, he has sort of leaned forward leaving his verticality, but if he has returned to vertical position in the air by the time he is hit is it a charge or no?

Eric,

I'm having a tough time envisioning what you describe. But it sounds like you're saying that the defender is jumping forward (towards the shooter) but gets his hands straight up before contact with the shooter. In that situation, I will call a blocking foul on the defender (unless the shooter wards him off or punches him or something). The reason is that he jumped into the shooter's path.

The principle of verticality isn't entirely about how your hands are positioned. It states that a player is entitled to the space he's standing on, from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Jumping forward (outside of that "spot" on the floor) means that you are not necessarily entitled to your position anymore, b/c you've left your spot. If contact occurs in that situation, the foul is probably on the defender.

But maybe you knew that. Maybe you were asking about a defender who bends or shields himself within his vertical plane in order to lessen the impact of a collision with the shooter, or to jump higher; but then straightens himself before any contact occurs. In this case, as long as the defender doesn't extend his hands toward the shooter before impact, the contact is the responsibility of the offensive player; if the contact warrants a foul call, it should be a player control foul.

I hope that doesn't just confuse you more.

Chuck