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"Behind the Stripes" is written by veteran WIAA official B.J. Ligocki, an active message board poster who has helped many people on the forum with rules questions and clarifications over the years. The purpose of this feature is to help educate readers on any rules changes, clarify procedures and rules, provide case studies and examples, and answer any questions people may have on officiating or rules.

Feel free to email any rules or officiating questions you have at wissports.ask.a.ref@gmail.com for inclusion in future articles.

B.J. Ligocki:  Football (Master Level – 8 yrs – State Championship); Basketball (Level 5 – 16 years – Regional); Baseball/Softball (Level 5 – 16 years - Regional)

Block vs charge vs no call is one of the hardest calls to be made in basketball.  The first thing to keep in mind is that a foul is contact that gives one player an advantage.  The other definition that must be understood is “Legal guarding position,” (LGP) which is explained in rule 4-23.  A defender can obtain LGP by facing the opponent and having both feet on the floor.  When guarding a stationary player, there is no time or distance required to gain LGP, but if it is established against an airborne player with the ball, LGP must have been obtained before the player left the floor.  If guarding a moving player, the defender needs to give the opponent time and distance to avoid contact.

Once LGP has been obtained, the defender is not required to face the opponent, allowed to jump, may move laterally or backwards, and may turn or duck to absorb contact.  The main point here is that a defender does not need to be set to take a charge.  They can be moving laterally or backwards, as long as the offensive player has not left the floor.  The officiating philosophy here is called “reffing the defense.”  The official needs to know the position of the defensive player when the offensive player goes airborne and/or when contact occurs.

Another thing to keep in mind is that these calls often happen on fast breaks, when officials are sprinting back to get the best angle possible, so we are frequently moving ourselves when this call has to be made, adding to the difficulty.  Also, unlike NBA and NCAA, there is no restricted zone under the basket, so it is legal in high school basketball to take a charge directly under the basket.  These types of calls under the basket can be where the advantage/disadvantage comes into play.  If the defender is under the basket, the shot has usually already been taken, so the defender doesn’t really get any advantage from the contact, and the offense doesn’t gain much of an advantage because the defender is really out of the play.  In general, if the contact is between the chest or shoulder of the offense to the chest of the defense, there will probably be a charge.  Contact with the defender’s shoulder, hip, knee, or elbows will either be blocks or no-calls.

There is an excellent video on block vs charge which is available on youtube and shown below.  I will put the answers in my next column.