Good block?

[Adam]

Originally Posted by btaylor64

Guys I have been following this debate since the thread started and it was very civilized and well debated imo....

My personal opinion is that this is not a foul, as the defender blocks the ball virtually with his forearm and the block is just slightly prior to the contact which tells me he gets to the ball LEGALLY before any contact. Similar plays like these are called and should be called differently imo or should I say judge each one of these plays on its own merits, bc had the defender obviously contacted the off. player before the block, that now makes it a foul or as another example, had the defender contacted the off. player sooo hard and smashed him into the stanchion or sent him beyond the first row and he shot off the defender's body like a cannon, that is some of the visual cues that tell me the contact was too much to ignore even with a blocked shot. But the off. player falls just about a foot off the floor and the contact doesnt look to be, imo, too great for a foul.

Can I see this being a foul in a HS game.... yes... I would prefer it wasn't but I wouldn't question an official for making it.

I understand there are different opinions (it would take a fool to deny it), and differing opinions on this have been expressed by people I respect. Let me just as one question that may come across as over-the-top.

Are you saying that an airborne shooter is fair game if his shot has been blocked before contact?