Agreed.

Yep, this was part of the instruction at the preseason PAC-10 camp. There was a belief that too many fouls which should have been deemed in the act of shooting weren't. I think that the officials are now overcompensating.

Like anything else there will be a pendulum effect and it will find a centering point after a couple of years.

When should the timer stop the clock on that? ;)

Was at the game today. Fun atmosphere.

They got the Aldrich elbow right. Dead ball contact caused the 'T'. Bill Self agreed with the call in his post game interview. It was a good call.

The Morningstar free throw was a sight to see. The 3 whistles looked at each other like they didn't know what to do, then realized what happened after the initial shock wore off. I thought the 3 men in stripes today did a fine job. This was not an easy game to play when you have Pittman and Aldrich going at in down low.

Reminds me of a factoid I heard reported last night: we're in the 5th consecutive week without a PAC-10 team in the top 25.

And CORNELL is #22! Ha! No hoops on the coast I guess!

It was also part of both the high school and college camps I attended the last two summers. The instruction was pretty clear in both those settings - if the player has "gathered" the ball and after contact continues to attempt his try (ie, doesn't pass the ball) he should be deemed in the act of shooting.

The thought process is that the gathering is actually the start of the habitual shooting motion. (Disclaimer: I'm now going to use non-official terms to discuss the type of try players are attempting.) The discussion was mainly around shots going to the bucket - layups, floaters, runners, etc. The belief was that officials did a good job of recognizing when the shooting motion started on jump shots but not on these "moving" shots and that it actually started much earlier than most of us called it.

It's certainly an interesting discussion and open for interpretation. On a fast break layup is the gathering of the ball the actual start of the try? Makes sense to me, but I can see arguments other ways.

No link?

We understand it the same, then. In the game last night, the ball was in both hands just before the foul happened. I would consider that "gathered" and as long as he continues up with it, it's in the act of shooting.

It's certainly easier to sell with a more patient whistle. :D

Here's a link to the free throw attempt. Haven't seen one on the Aldrich foul.

Brady Morningstar free throw attempt

At about 1:30 in this video is the James/Aldrich foul sequence.

James fouls Aldrich, Aldrich follows with intentional technical