block/charge

[wolfe44]

Hi, I've been an official for about 7 years and i've taken a hiatus to return to grad school. As such, I don't have my rule books with me here at school. Could somebody please send my the official rule on the block/charge. I often get into arguments with my friends while watching a game because they don't understand the block/charge call. This is perpetuated by the fact that most tv commentators don't understand it, and misinform the basketball public. Please send me the page number and quote so that I can teach them a little basketball! Thanks in advance to anybody nice enough to look it up and type it out!!

[ScottParks]

SECTION 7 BLOCKING, CHARGING
ART. 1 . . . Blocking is illegal personal contact which impedes the progress of an opponent with or without the ball.
ART. 2 . . . Charging is illegal personal contact caused by pushing or moving into an opponent’s torso. a. A player who is moving with the ball is required to stop or change direction to avoid contact if a defensive player has obtained a legal guarding position in his/her path.
b. If a guard has obtained a legal guarding position, the player with the ball must get his/her head and shoulders past the torso of the defensive player. If contact occurs on the torso of the defensive player, the dribbler is responsible for the contact.
c. There must be reasonable space between two defensive players or a defensive player and a boundary line to allow the dribbler to continue in his/her path. If there is less than 3 feet of space, the dribbler has the greater responsibility for the contact.
d. The player with the ball may not push the torso of the guard to gain an advantage to pass, shoot or dribble.

[DownTownTonyBrown]

As you can see from the definition much of the rule is based upon the defender establishing a legal guarding position.

I'm with you man, announcers don't understand the rules any better than most players.... oooooh that's right they were players. And now getting paid to commentate but haven't enough brains to pick up a rule book, or discuss rulings with a knowledgeable official. Thereby perpetuating the inexcusable ignorance of the player's mentality and passing it on to the public.

Here is the definition for guarding position.

Rule 4-23 GUARDING

Art 1. Guarding is the act of legally placing the body in the path of an offensive opponent. There is no minimum distance required between the guard and opponent, but the maximum is 6 feet when closely guarded. Every player is entitled to a spot on the floor provided such player gets there first without illegally contacting an opponent. A player who extends an arm, shoulder, hip or leg into the path of an opponent is not considered to have a legal position if contact occurs.

Art 2. To obtain an initial legal guarding position:
a. The guard must have both feet touching the floor
b. The front of the guards torso must be facing the opponent.

Art 3. After the initial legal guarding position is obtained:
a. The guard is not required to have either or both on the floor ro continue to face the opponent.
b. The guard may move laterally or obliquely to maintain position, provided it is not toward the opponent when contact occurs.
c. The guard may raise hands or jump within his/her own vertical plane.
d. The guard may turn or duck to absorb the shock of immenent contact.

Art 4. Guarding an opponent with the ball or a stationary opponent without the ball:
a. No time or distance is required to obtain an initial legal position.
b. If the opponent with the ball is airborne, the guard must have obtained legal position before the opponent left the floor.

Art 5. Guarding a moving opponent without the ball:
a. Time and distance are factors required to obtain an initial legal position.
b. The guard must give the opponentnt the time and/or distance to avoid contact.
c. The distance need not be more than two strides.
d. If the opponent is airborne, the guard must have obtained legal position before the opponent left the floor.

Whew! I volunteered to type the definition before I realized how long it was.

Combine the definition of guarding with the definition of Block/Charge for a reasonably good understanding. Most commentators confuse the act of obtaining a legal guarding position (Art 2) with the time of contact. They can be, but generally do not occur at the same time - a legal guarding position is generally established seconds before the contact.

Additionally, the official must evaluate which player initiates/causes the contact. If the guard is pushing into the dribbler or other offensive player, the guard is at fault - block or push. If the guard has established a legal position and the dribbler has opportunity to avoid contact but chooses to charge forward (or perform the Magic Johnson butt boogaloo) into the guard, the dribbler is at fault - player control foul.

This is only the beginning... there are many permutations, potential plays. Hope it helps. My fingers are tired.

[rainmaker]

Wolfe--

I'm not the world's expert on anything, but I've gotten repeated high marks on my evals on the subject of block/charge. Here's how I've boiled it down.

The key to the whole thing is, REF THE DEFENSE. This is why 99% of the public can't get it correct reliably, they are watching the ball. If the defender establishes and maintains legal guarding position, any foul must be called on the ball-handler. So all you have to do is to watch the defender, and you will know how to call any contact.

Legal guarding position means that the defender at some point had both feet on the floor and was facing the ball-handler. After that point, and it only needs to be a micro-second, he can move to maintain a close guarding. If he moves in the same direction as the dribbler, and then there is contact, his feet may be off the floor, but the call is Player Control, because the defender still has legal guarding position.

So once the dribbler is running straight up the floor, the defender can run alongside and prevent the dribbler from turning to get into shooting position. If the dribbler turns into the defender, it's automatically PC.

Keys for refs to watch for are, where was contact? If it's on the torso of the defender, it's usually PC. If the defender gets in front of the dribbler, even momentarily, the foul must be PC.

Refs should also watch for travelling as the dribbler realizes he's in trouble and tries to go around, or slow down.

Remember, too, that this is all high school rules. college and NBA are different. Especially that little dotted line circle under the basket -- doesn't exist in high school rules, not even in theory. A ribbler can foul clear behind the backboard after the ball has fallen through the basket, if the defender had legal guarding position before the dribbler left the floor to shoot.

The words to say to your friends are, Legal Guarding Position, and Ref the Defense. It takes lots of practice, and most members of the viewing public aren't really interested.

[wolfe44]

hey, you guys are great!! Thanks for taking so much time to type out that long rule! That's what makes reffing so great--it's kind of a fraternity. I know you guys are really, really busy, and this new quote will really help my friends understand this mostly misunderstood rule!

Thanks again!!

wolfe

[BktBallRef]

Originally posted by wolfe44
hey, you guys are great!! Thanks for taking so much time to type out that long rule! That's what makes reffing so great--it's kind of a fraternity. I know you guys are really, really busy, and this new quote will really help my friends understand this mostly misunderstood rule!

Thanks again!!

wolfe

They didn't type it. It's called copy and paste!

[williebfree]

BktBallRef

Let him think we are that passionate!

[Nevadaref]

Since you are mostly going to be watching college and NBA games on TV, might I suggest that you visit http://www.ncaa.org and the corresponding nba websites and clip the block/charge rules directly from their rule books.

[ScottParks]

Originally posted by wolfe44
hey, you guys are great!! Thanks for taking so much time to type out that long rule! That's what makes reffing so great--it's kind of a fraternity. I know you guys are really, really busy, and this new quote will really help my friends understand this mostly misunderstood rule!

Thanks again!!

wolfe

Sorry, I "cheated" and copied the words from my converted ARS software.

[dblref]

Originally posted by ScottParks

Sorry, I "cheated" and copied the words from my converted ARS software.

Scott: Just curious, but how did you convert the ARS software/ I tried a couple of times and got nuttin but junk. Must be my "conversion" skills.

[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by wolfe44
Hi, I've been an official for about 7 years and i've taken a hiatus to return to grad school.

Quick suggestion, from one student to another.

Don't stop officiating.

I'd be willing to bet that your school has some sort of intramural program. As poor as the basketball may be, it keeps you out on the court, and you see plenty of odd situations.

Also, as a grad student, do you have a car? You might want to ask around and see if you can do at least middle school/JV games to keep fresh.

[ScottParks]

Scott: Just curious, but how did you convert the ARS software/ I tried a couple of times and got nuttin but junk. Must be my "conversion" skills.

I found a help to text convertor (I think it was hlptxt10 or something like that) and changed them to text files. Then I pulled them into word and got rid of the extra "stuff" that comes along. It did NOT convert the graphics though, such as the court and tech foul summary table.