The Call Most Often, or Most Egregiously, Missed

[eroe39]

If the defender jumps straight up and straight down and the offensive player jumps into his vertical space I believe it should be a no call or offensive foul depending on the severity of the contact. However, 98% of the time when a defender is contesting a jump shot, he jumps forward towards the ball. And when he does this prematurely, such as reacting to a good ball fake, and the offensive player now draws the contact I believe a defensive foul should be called since the defender is now illegal, i.e.- not jumping within his vertical plane. This is my philosophy on jump shot plays, now I believe it is totally different on drives to the basket. Many times the center will jump straight up and straight down on these plays simply to protect the basket.