This cannot be a rule surely?

Reminds me of a guy I played against at local courts when I was young. His defensive style involved running around trying to keep his hand in front of my eyes so I couldn't see the ball. He didn't actually try and steal the ball at any stage, but it actually proved effective because I couldn't stop laughing.

Not sure of the latest version of this rule but it can be charged as a Technical foul, "baiting an opponent or obstructing his vision by waving his hands near his eyes"

MC is correct in this case... It is technically baiting. Give a team warning first for unsportsmanlike conduct, then technical foul for subsequent offences would be best remedy in this situation. The referee in this case had it half right... if the hands are too close to the face, it can be deemed baiting, as it can be deemed as unsportsmanlike conduct, but if he was going to give the foul, it should have been then technical, not the straight personal foul. Maybe he was showing a little give and take, perhaps???

Well, how about this call. When is a travel not a travel ? when you are not disadvantaged by travelling. Now I don't know about anyone else, but when has anyone been disadvantaged by travelling, I thought it was more of an advantage myself. I saw this rule used three times in one game (and it wasn't even an under 10's game, it was an under 20 div. 1 game). So according to this rule, as long as no one defends you, you can run down the court with the ball and not have to worry about dribbling. What is this great game coming too ?

MC is correct in this case... It is technically baiting. Give a team warning first for unsportsmanlike conduct, then technical foul for subsequent offences would be best remedy in this situation. The referee in this case had it half right... if the hands are too close to the face, it can be deemed baiting, as it can be deemed as unsportsmanlike conduct, but if he was going to give the foul, it should have been the technical, not the straight personal foul. Maybe he was showing a little give and take, perhaps???

Thats almost as good a call as the intimidation foul I got. Played up at Blackwood and was called for an intimidation (Spelling?? - I'm terrible) foul. I was going to foul the guy but pulled out of it causing him to stumble and miss the shot.

Anon, I played in that game last night, and although that way have been the ref's explanation, it was clear you got body as well when you attempted to block his shot. If you are not jumping straight up in your cylinder and you make the slightest contact with the offensive player, then the ref will/should call it. I couldn't believe how long you went on sooking about it!

If you guys hadn't of worried about the refs all night long, you might have had a better chance of beating us. Get yourself a rule book and brush up on them, then go out and ref and see how diffifult it can be to apply them in a game.

This would have to be one of the softest foul calls in history. If a player can't handle a hand near their face, then they trully need to toughen up. Haven't coaches been saying for years that a good defensive tactic is to get a hand up to distract the offensive player?

While this is stupid, I once got called for a foul in u/18s for waving my arms while defending. I was also told that if I did it again, I'd be given a tech, and that "If this was Europe, you'd be thrown out of the stadium son". Trully rediculous and soft.

3, can I reiterate again, the guy got him with body while challenging the shot - a clear disadvantage, hence the call.

However, in regard to the hand in the face, it is a tech foul after a warning if a player is face guarding, Reggie Miller used to get into a bit of trouble every now and then with it when guarding MJ.

Read the rule book - it's in there! Why do we let ignorance rule our lives in the game of basketball?

You can get a Tech foul without a warning!! There is no requirement to warn although a warning is often given

this it true, but a good ref will normally warn a player of an illegal action on certain things like this before calling it i.e. bumping or holding in the post.

Reminds me of one of the greatest sporting quotes of all time..." Golf is the only game in the world where a thorough knowledge of the rules makes you someone no-one wants to play with!!"