Loose Ball: Foul or Not

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by NCHSAA

I agree. Equal and favorable positions, both shoulders come in and meet and the player in front has the better chance of gaining posession of the loose ball. White just takes the fall because of the course of play, not illegal action. An ex-NBA official once instructed to follow the path of the players during loose ball plays (straight line run toward the ball, angle, etc.) and also consider their speed.

I would have agreed with your assessment had Blake just gone straight to the ball. However, he didn't. He chose to throw his shoulder into Lin to knock him off his path. That makes it a foul. The new L, from his position was in a poor position to referee that play. He may have been in a poor position because he was doing the right thing at the other end, but that doesn't mean he had a great view. From the first 3-4 replays, I had no foul on the play. Once they showed the endline view, I had an obvious foul.