5 Seconds

[Ralph Stubenthal]

Larks, the closely guarded rule and the rule on initial legal guarding position are in the book for different reasons. The legal guarding position rule where the initial legal guarding position must be established only comes into play when there is a contact foul so that one can determine if it is a block or charge. I don't believe that anything in the rule book says anything about legal guarding position needing to be established before a 5 second count can be started.