NFHS emphasis on elbow contact

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

So, if a player grabs a rebound, holds the ball in front of him with elbows slightly out, and at shoulder level, and pivots, moving his elbows with a rotational motion no faster than his feet move on the pivot, in other words, the elbow movement is not considered excessive, and accidentally strikes a shorter nearby player in the head, in the rebounder's blind spot, behind him, and to the side, and the official decides that this is illegal contact, then, according to the NFHS, the minimum "level" foul that we can charge here is an intentional foul? Do I have this right? We can't charge a common foul here? Am I reading the point of emphasis correctly?

Yep, you got that right. The only reason a player has their elbows in such a position is to use them to clear space, even if not excessively swung. They want the elbows out of the play altogether.