The NCAA has made another step in their neverending battle in trying to perfect the the block/charge rule.
On Monday, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel voted to make a change to the rule in an attempt to bring some modicum of consistency to how the call is made.
“Under the revised block/charge call in men’s basketball, a defensive player is not permitted to move into the path of an offensive player once he has started his upward motion with the ball to attempt a field goal or pass,” the NCAA wrote in a release. “If the defensive player is not in legal guarding position by this time, it is a blocking foul.”
The 2012-2013 season was rife with complaints about how the block/charge rule was being called, but the impetus for the rule change was a charge that was drawn by Ohio State’s Aaron Craft in the final seconds of an NCAA tournament win over Iowa State.
Remember the hullaballoo this call created? That wasn’t the only time that Iowa State was robbed by a referee misunderstanding the block/charge rule, either, was it, Elijah Johnson? The rule needed to be fixed, and while the changes being made this summer are a good thing, it’s important to remember that this isn’t going to change the fact that there are referees out there that will continue to make incorrect calls. Remember how promising we thought the charge circle was going to be?
New rules don’t mean that the correct call is always going to be made.
There were a couple of other rule changes made on Monday as well:
The NCAA took a note out of the Jay Bilas school of basketball and decided to try and find a way to open the game up by reducing the amount of fouling and physicality that goes on. The following fouls will be points of emphasis next season:- When a defensive player keeps a hand or forearm on an opponent.- When a defensive player puts two hands on an opponent.
- When a defensive player continually jabs by extending his arm(s) and placing a hand or forearm on the opponent.
- When a player uses an arm bar to impede the progress of an opponent.
- There will be an increased use of monitor reviews next season. Referees can now use the monitor to review shot clock violations and out-of-bounds calls in the final two minutes and overtime. They can also review to see which player committed a foul, not just to determine who should be the foul shooter. The NCAA will also use the rule the Big Ten tested last season, waiting to review whether a shot was a two or a three until the next TV timeout unless it is in the final four minutes or overtime.
- The best rule change that will be made is to the elbow rule. Previously, if an elbow was swung and it hit a player above the shoulders, it was an automatic flagrant foul. Now, the referees will be allowed some discretion in determining whether or not to give out a flagrant using a monitor review.
The rule change regarding flagrant elbows is the most important here.
Changing the definition of a charge isn’t going to change how often a ref can may the call correctly. It’s not an easy thing to do. And just because the rule book now says you can’t put two hands on an opponent doesn’t mean that refs will be calling those fouls every time it happens; if they do, Louisville and VCU are going to have long seasons.
New rules won’t make referees more accurate.
But allowing refs to avoid handing out game-changing flagrants on inadvertent elbows is a huge step.
You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.
