ball, not elbow

[HokiePaul]

This question has come up before ... can probably search threads to find the discussion. There's a video floating around too from an NBA game where Tim Duncan gets someone in the face with the ball on a drive.

For me, a lot would depend on intent. If this was a normal basketball move and the person happened to get hit, I'm playing on, no different than if someone got hit in the face with a pass.

But I'm not letting the player use the ball as a weapon, or to circumvent the rules on illegal contact by using the ball as a shield to buffer what would otherwise be illegal contact. If I felt that this was the case, I would have something (common or intentional).

If I have a foul, I'd have to cite 2-3, or could maybe stretch an interpretation from 4-24-2. Under NFHS, you could also have a violation if elbows were swung excessively.