Camron, I think it WAS contact designed to neutralize an advantageous position. The defender was clearly faked out and sailing past - she knew she was beat - and reached back with her foot and kicked the shooter on the arm. Seems to me that she did it exactly to neutralize the opponents advantage. That's why I'm kicking myself for NOT calling it Intentional.

First, we're talking about an outstanding vertical leap if he's getting his feet above his opponent's waist by simply jumping. If we assume a player's waist approximately half his height and the shortest basketball player found with any regularity at all is 5' 8" (or 68"), your talking about a 34" vertical leap minimum and that's elite of the elite NBA numbers according to the quick Google search result I just did. It's not likely to happen very often.

I think if a jumper makes contact with his foot while in a near vertical position (as opposed to reaching out/up with the foot) you have a common foul. It's the attempt to play the ball/player with the foot that's dangerous.

That's how I'm leaning. You can always go with "excessive force" if the foot made excessive contact, hence the intentional foul.

I think you'd have to. If you block the shot with an arm, there's a chance you can recover the ball. If you use the leg, the consequence is that the other team gets the ball automatically.

This is a good point, and I'm inclined to go with official's judgment here. If you think it was an attempt to neutralize an opponent's obviously advantageous position, then go ahead with the INT.

But I disagree with the idea of calling an INT just because it's "not a basketball play." There's no rules basis for that idea, and it's not synonymous with neutralizing obvious advantage.

But "not a basketball play" IS relevant: the defender loses all benefit of the doubt in a play like this, and could be hit with an INT or flagrant foul -- especially in a "warm" game, kicking could easily be interpreted as fighting.

So although "not a basketball play" does not by itself warrant the INT, I think it lowers the bar for INT or flagrant.

Would you call an INT if the defender used a fist instead? Assuming they missed the ball and hit the shooter's arm instead, but did not cause excessive contact?

I'm inclined to go with an INT here for the same reason it's a violation to kick or punch the ball to begin with. It's a safety issue.

Kicking at a loose ball, a thrown pass, or even a dribbled ball, is one thing. Kicking at a ball that's being held by an opponent is quite another risk level, IMO.

no

I think the "not a basketball play" comes in where the defender knows that regardless of what she makes contact with, be it ball or A1, she will violate or foul. Therefore B1 knowingly fouled without attempt to play the ball. That's a good fit for an intentional foul.

Beyond that, high kicking is a dangerous act which puts the opponent as well as the kicker herself at significant risk of injury. It's a foul committed with excessive force.

Take your pick, but either way I think you've got an intentional.

Making contact with a fist might in itself constitute excessive contact, or might be fighting. Once again, "not a basketball play" (NABP) lowers the bar. Call the INT, discourage the behavior, prevent problems.

If someone in my game loses a leg, we probably have a flagrant foul and much more. :eek:

In the OP, you said the player kicked at the ball, missed, but got the arm. Here, you're implying they were trying to kick the arm.

That, to me, makes all the difference.

An attempt to play the ball that results in contact short of excessive force just can't be an intentional foul.

If the player was simply trying to kick the arm/player, I agree, intentional....perhaps flagrant if the kick was with enough force.

No, I don't want to imply that...she kicked AT the ball, but misjudged (I guess) and ended up kicking the shooter's arm instead.

I just don't know about this one...I kind of OK with calling the common foul, and kind of thinking that I should have called it Intentional.

Completely undecided at this point...still waiting for some one to give me a concrete, absolutely always true interpretation on this type of play (I know...not gonna happen).

Well, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with allowing a defender to kick at a ball that's in the grasp of an opponent without imposing the fullest legitimate penalty.

If she did succeed in kicking the ball but failed to knock it out of the shooter's hand; I'd be inclined to delay calling the violation.

Intentionally?

Kicking at the ball is not an attempt to play the ball. It is an attempt to violate. She intentionally tried to break the rules and made a contact foul with a high probability of injury to the offended player. I'm not sure what more you need here.

Nice catch, Cam. Thanks.

Why can't it be both?

There's no rule against attempting to play the ball with the leg, unless the ball makes contact with the leg. The leg-ball contact has its own consequence. Without contact, there's no consequence.

Then, you'd have to judge the excessive nature of any leg-arm contact. If you think that any such contact is excessive, then I suppose you have a ground for an intentional foul.