Legal Defenders

Before getting into what is a block and what is a charge I would like to take some time to get into what it means to be a legal defender.

When you watch a basketball game you might think that everyone on defense is a legal defender … but you would not be totally correct.

Legal Defenders

- Guarding - legally having your body in the path of the offensive player.

There guideline on how close you can get to the offensive player but the maximum distance is 6 feet to be considered in "closely guarded position." 

Everyone on the court is allowed to stand anywhere on the court as long as they established position first and they are not making illegal contact with the other team.

A player is not considered to be in legal guarding position if he/she extends an arm, shoulder, hip, or leg into the path of an opponent.

- To obtain an initial legal guarding position:

a. Both of the guard's feet must be touching the court

b. The guard must have his/her torso facing the opponent

- After initial legal guarding position is obtained:

a. As long as the guard has inbound status the guard may have one or both feet on the court or be in the air.

b. The guard no longer has to face his/her opponent.

c. The guard may move side-to-side or obliquely to maintain position, as long as he/she does not move into toward the ball handler creating contact.

d. The guard is allowed to have his/her hands up and can jump as long as he/she remains in his/her own vertical plane.

e. The guard is allowed to turn or duck to defend against incoming contact.

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a. If the offensive player with the ball is airborne, the defensive player must have reached legal position before the offensive player left the floor.

For more information refer to the NFHS Rule Book, Rule 4- Section 23

My Thoughts

When it comes to legal guarding, an official has a lot to pay attention to. Besides looking for legal guarding position you are also looking for all violations like traveling. What we also have to pay attention to is the primary and secondary defender.

The primary defender is the player guarding the person with the ball. If the offensive player beats his defender and another defender comes over to cover him, he/she becomes the secondary defender. That person would then need to establish legal guarding position on that offensive player by using those same guidelines listed above.

Block/Charge plays are mostly always based on whether or not the defender is in legal guarding position. So with the information provided above get ready to test your knowledge.

Be on the look out for my next post to test your new skills in determining a block (defensive foul) versus a charge (offensive foul).