May 13, 2008

Block-Charge

Charging
GUARDING A PLAYER WHO HAS THE BALL

The player with the ball must be prepared to stop or change direction when an opponent appears in his path. (the guard is assumed to have established a guarding position if he is in the dribbler's path facing him with both feet on the floor.) No specific stance or distance is required. The questions to be answered are: 'Who was at the spot first?" and, "Was the guard facing the. dribbler with two feet on the floor?" If the guard was facing the dribbler, he has established a legal guarding position. Time and distance are of no consequence. The guard may shift to maintain his position in the path of the dribbler, provided he does not charge into the dribbler or cause contact as outlined in Rule 10.

The guard, once a guarding position has been established, may turn or duck to absorb shock or avoid injury when contact by the dribbler is imminent. However, the guard may not cause contact by moving under or in front of a passer or shooter after the offensive man is in the air with his feet off the floor.


GUARDING A PLAYER WHO DOES-NOT HAVE THE BALL

Guarding a player who does not have the ball is classified as a guarding situation. In establishing a position initially on a man without the ball, time and distance are important factors in determining the legality of the initial guarding position. The distance allowable is in accordance with the speed of the offensive player's ability to stop or change direction. Never shall the distance exceed two steps regardless of how fast the player without the ball is moving.

The basic principle governing guarding situations is that a player is entitled to his position on the floor if he has legally established the position. (in the case of guarding a player without the ball, the guard must be facing his opponent with two feet on the floor when he takes his initial position.) After this, he may turn or duck and move in order to keep in the path of his opponent and thus legally impede his progress or prevent him from getting to a desired spot on the floor. The guard may move laterally or backward, but he may not move toward his opponent and cause contact with his outstretched arms or extended elbows. With the exception indicated, the opponent would be responsible for the contact.

SWITCHING TO AN OPPONENT WHO DOES NOT HAVE THE BALL
When a guard switches from one opponent into the path of another who does not have the ball so quickly that the opponent does not have time to stop or change direction without contact, the guard is responsible for blocking. This is the same as a screening situation in which the players are in motion. In a situation of this kind, the player who switches from the opponent into the path of another who does not have the ball, must take his position sufficiently far away from the second opponent so that this opponent may stop or change direction and thus avoid contact.

At the risk of oversimplification, the following guide is offered to officials to be used as a check on whether the defensive player has established a guarding position and as a means of determining responsibility for contact in a guarding situation.

If there is contact by the offensive player on some spot of the front of the torso (trunk) or his hands (if he has thrown up his hands in front of his trunk for protection) of the defensive player, the official can be sure that the offensive player is responsible for the contact assuming the requirements for a legal guarding position have been met.

Unless the official considers the contact incidental, the offensive player has committed a personal foul for charging. If the official will focus attention or; the point of contact, it will establish the fact that charging is one of the simplest "calls" in basketball. (It is understood in the foregoing statements that the defensive player may, lot move into the path of an opponent after the offensive player is airborne, or charge forward into the offensive player.)