Not a rules expert but last night baffled me. To my eyes on most replays of Blackshear working inside for a basket and/or foul he would initiate contact with the defender using his shoulder and then go up. I do not remember any of those being called an offensive foul.
On the numerous offensive fouls called on RJ, not only last night, the announcers always point to his leading with his shoulder and initiating contact as reason for charge instead of a block.
RJ’s are usually in open space and the defender falls while Blackshear’sare generally in the post and the defender is then off balance when he goes up for the shot.
Is there a different standard for post play versus open floor? Is the dramatic fall in the open floor what seals the call? Or am I just biased in my perception?
The whole block/charge situation in college basketball is a steaming pile of tar heel.
Even this crap about lowering the shoulder is super subjective. I’ve repeatedly seen commentators justify bad calls when the defensive player clearly initiated contact (“well, they probably would have let it go except he lowered the shoulder”) when the charging player did not do anything at all like lowering the shoulder.
Any time two players collide, just flip a coin and call it one way or the other— the result would look no different to outside observers than the status quo.
I personally would prefer they return to the old standard of set defensive position for one full second. It wouldn’t be perfect but it’d beat the current situation of six guys flying backward like they were hit by a Mack truck any time a strong player moves toward the basket.
Rich
"Failure is Not a Destination"
Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show, December 22, 2016
Well you are correct that it's a steaming pile...officials are clueless and over their heads on how to call it. Officials training misses one huge thing that could easily be corrected, but in the arrogance (and officials have their own little political fiefdom and have no idea how poor the state of their art is) they won't do it.
The only thing is, to go to the old one second standard, it gives the defender no chance against a Blackshear or Harden who always do initiate
I agree it wouldn’t be perfect, it’d just be better.
And you could eliminate some of the bs simply by telling to officials to call nothing unless it is very, very clearly one way or the other. (Granted, they’re trying to do something like that now and the officials aren’t doing it.)