ref the defense

[Rob1968]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Just about the only thing you need to be watching in order to determine who fouled who is the defender, not the offensive player. There is very little the offensive player can do that you need to watch. If the defender does nothing illegal, that means they didn't foul. If there is still enough contact for a foul, it was committed by the offense.

Did the defender get LGP?
Did the defender stay vertical?
Did the defender move laterally or away from the opponent or did they move toward the opponent at the time of contact.
Was the contact on the defender's torso or an extended limb?
...

Note that none of the above items depend on where or how the offense got there....only the defender.

In a conversation last week, with a friend who does D1 Men, in several conferences, he addressed the subject in similar terms. And he added, "When the coach asks you what his player did wrong, that caused you to call a foul on him, you have to be able to answer very specifically; such as, he moved into the ball handler, or even though he was vertical, he brought his hands down, or he hit the opponent on the arm, etc."
If you can't explain the call easily, and specifically, there may be a problem with that call. And maybe the problem is that you were watching the offense, rather than officiating the defense.