Duke vs North Carolina (2015) (Videos x2)

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by just another ref

I think there's a difference. Other than your own propulsion, there is nothing you can do with your foot on the basketball court that's legal. As much emphasis as we have placed on the hand check, a lot of it still goes on. You put your foot where it doesn't belong, even by accident, if there's contact, that's a foul. With that in mind, I see any deliberate contact with the foot/leg as excessive. I think both of these were deliberate.

You can't really use your elbows/forearms for anything legal and useful either. I've never seen someone shoot, dribble, pass, etc. with their elbows. Yet, few fouls (push-offs, in particular) are ever called as excessive. Same with a defender/screener using the knee. We just call a block when someone sticks out their knee to either cut off someone's path or push them out of the post (knee used to displace them).

Excessive contact is about the amount of force, not the body part used to apply it or even the intent to use it.

I don't disagree that it is probably an automatic foul, but without more than just using it to nudge the player back or keep him at a distance, I just don't see how the contact was excessive....and neither did the crew on this game. And they clearly saw it and could have easily gone there.