Closely Guarded Count

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Fritz

I am inclined to go with your first comment. The defender was certainly within 6 feet. I've seen this even at the top of the circle where the offensive player is just holding the ball, his back to the defender who is right behind him, waiting on various players to make cuts and such. They never exceed the 5 seconds before either passing or starting a dribble, but I rarely see an official demonstrating a count until the offensive player turns to face the defender. So I was just curious if there was some understanding that you had to be facing each other in order to be "closely guarded."

I have never heard of this unwritten rule. The defender should be facing the player with the ball, but it does not matter which direction the player with the ball is facing.