Offense Initiated Contact - From NCAA Basketball 2016/17 Media/Fan Video

(Source: NCAA Resources YouTube Channel)

Disclaimer: The NCAA and NFHS are two different governing bodies and thus have two different set of rules when it comes to basketball.  However, a lot of principles here still apply to games following NFHS standards.

This is a video published by the NCAA where JD Collins (NCAA National Coordinator of Men's Basketball Officials) talks about the points of emphasis for men's basketball and focuses on offense initiated contact.  The NCAA and NFHS has continually stressed the importance of reducing physicality and making the game safer by recognizing and consistently penalizing illegal contact between players.  In this video, JD Collins spotlights that offense initiated contact against a defender in legal guarding position must either be a no-call or called an offensive foul if the contact is deemed egregious enough.

Let's unpack that.  

1) What is guarding?

Guarding is the act of legally placing the body in the path of an offensive opponent (NFHS Rule 4-23).  Every player is entitled to a spot on the court provided the player gets there first without illegally contacting an opponent.

2) Now that we understanding guarding, what's a legal guarding position?

A defender must obtain an initial legal guarding position in order to defend against an offensive opponent.  To obtain an initial guarding position, the defender must (NFHS Rule 4-23):

• Have both feet touching inbounds on the playing court.
• The front of the defender's torso must be facing the opponent.
• The defender must have obtained that area prior to the offensive becoming airborne.

3) Now that legal guarding position is established, what can the defender do?

After establishing initial legal guarding position, the defender is now allowed to:

• Have one or both feet on the playing court or be airborne.
• Turn away from the opponent.
• Move laterally or obliquely to maintain position.
• Raise hands or jump within his/her own vertical plane (cylinder principle and principle of verticality).
• Turn or duck to absorb the shock of imminent contact.

4) What is the defender NOT allowed to do?

Even though legal guarding position is established, the defender is not allowed to:

• Move into an opponent causing contact.
• Jump into an opponent causing contact.
• Bring hands/arms down past the frame of the body or extend an arm, shoulder, hip or leg into the path of an opponent violating verticality.
• Hand-checking/body-bumping the ball handler.
• Be out of bounds.
• Crowd the opponent out of an established straight-line path.

Now that we understand what a defender can and can't do, distinguishing between illegal contact by the defender and offense initiated contact becomes a little simpler.  Provided that the defender has established initial legal guarding position and has not committed an act that violates legal guarding status, contact between the ball handler should either result in a no-call or an offensive foul if contact displaces the defender in legal guarding position.