|
|
 For those of you who missed my first 'Society
Report Card' and second 'Society Report Card'....I was able to earn a Sociology minor in college and probably
should have gone through Grad School because of it. So, from time to time I like
to brush up on my skills and make my own little report card on Society. I
usually just keep it to myself because it involves politics, race issues,
socio-economics issues, how people drive, people who have too many items in the
express checkout of the grocery store, helping old ladies across the street,
etc. You get the point. This time I'll bring it to you in full effect. You
should now feel impressed.
My friends and I are getting ready to start playing pick-up basketball with a gusto that is rarely seen by 5-6 white guys outside of an establishment with alcoholic beverages. We have a couple of former college athletes on our team, so we like to play at a pace that is quicker than most. We slash to the bucket, crash for rebounds and play pretty tough defense. We are an aggressive bunch and sometimes...people don't like us. So, when we are playing against them, they usually foul us....a lot. That brings about the question I have for you today....when playing pick-up basketball, who has the responsibility of calling fouls? The offense or defense?
Scroll Down to Continue Reading
|
|
 As I stated before, we have some pretty good athletes in our group. For the most part we are all aggressive players who welcome contact and have no problem driving the lane and taking some punishment. The only problem is....at times no one will call foul. We are never sure who is in charge of calling fouls. When I played basketball while growing up the defense called fouls. I'm not sure if my Dad set the rules that way to help instill honesty and integrity in me, but it worked. When I played in college, the offense called fouls and the games took forever. Now that I'm out of college it seems that no one knows who is supposed to call fouls.
I'm a firm believer that it is the responsibility of the defender to call fouls. I think it's an integrity and honesty matter. You know if you fouled me, be honest about it. Actually, we both know if you fouled me, so go ahead and call it. If you are smacking me on the wrist on you swat my hand as I let go of my jumper....call a foul. I'll respect you more after that.
A guy that will call fouls while he is on defense is a guy I can respect. He's working hard, but there are times when fouls happen. Instead of trying to be sneaky and getting away by fouling and not calling it, he's keeping the game honest. I can appreciate that and so can my teammates. None of us are professional players here, I don't expect you to play like one. I do expect you to be an honest person though.
So, why shouldn't the offense call fouls? Well....because the purpose of the offense is to do whatever it can to score points. Set screens, run the pick and roll, etc....they are selfish by nature. They can't be trusted to make the right call because they are so worried about scoring points which...helps win the game. I'm sure we've all been a part of a game where it's down to game point and a guy continuously drives the lane, misses the lay-up and then calls foul as the other team is driving down the court for the winning bucket. I know I have...I've been that guy. If you allow me to call fouls while on offense I'll call it more often than if I'm on defense. I like to drive to the bucket and I'm actually looking for contact when I go, so....when you hit me, in my mind that's a foul.
But...if it's a known that the defense is calling fouls ahead of time....before the game starts...then players will know that they can't just drive the lane with reckless abandon in the hopes of calling a foul on the defense. That is why it should be up to the defense to call fouls. They are the protector of the basket...and the protector of the game. So, next time you go play ball, make sure you say before the game...."defense calls fouls".
|
18 Comments
Leave a comment
|
|
|
2008 Cubs Preview
i always assumed it was the responsibility of the guy with the ball to call foul (fouls away from the ball... do those even count?). if it's a BS call, then you just ignore it and keep playing. i don't think i've ever played a pick up game in which the defense called fouls.
good question. this problem has plagued playground ball for years. I've seen a great amount of conflict and change with this practice.
growing up on the mean streets of Whitehall, PA we learned the defense always called the fouls. However, over time that changed with the calls going about 75% offensive guy and 25% d.
It often became problematic with the "the ballhog who took all the shots" especially if he was not hot and embarassingly shot a brick. Tempers flare more often when the offensive guy calls ticky tack vs a blatant uncalled clothesline because of the frequency vs the violent act.
I'm a firm believer in d calling the fouls.
How do you just ignore a foul call and keep on playing? when we play as soon as someone calls foul play stops....
If it's offense calls foul and I shoot a brick (which isn't uncommon) I have no problem calling a foul.....i'm dirty like that.
yeah, play stops. but if everyone agrees that the foul really wasn't a foul, then you pick up where you left off.
you know, it seemed a lot simpler until i tried to explain it...
Ah, well then you are calling out the integrity of the player who called the foul. I've seen many a fight happen from that.
In pick up games at the park back in middle and high school to playing pick up at college, it's always been pretty much the defense calling the fouls. Of course there are always those few times where you know you were hacked but the D didn't call it so you have to call it yourself. A lot of it depends on the person as JC said. Being from a small town and small college, you kind of knew each person that played and their reputation. So, if you had that one guy who couldn't honestly call a foul then you were on more of an alert to make your call on O if he was on the opposite team. There are always the few guys who repeatedly called fouls when they were on O as well (when it was defense calling the fouls) and for the most part nobody liked them. They were the cry babies of the court.
yep.
many a fight does occur.
it's wonderful.
i guess i've always played backwards, huh?
I can't really knock it if it makes you happy I guess.
defense calls fouls. if you have been playing for more than a year or two you should f-ing know what a foul is and if you foul somebody call it. you know me, I guard a lot of guys bigger than me, taller, with longer arms and younger legs. If that kid gets the balls deep in the lane I am going to go after it for all the marbles. If i get him, he'll know and I will know it and I will call the foul. If an offensive guy calls foul when no foul occured, give him the ball and call him a pussy. that way, he get the ball back and has to live with the shame that you GAVE it back. Defense calls it.
I've learned playing a lot of pickup ball in Indy that NOBODY calls a foul...especially if you are white...you call a foul...crying starts...name calling ensues...maybe a fight breaks out...then we forget what the score is and a whole new argument starts up...I've even been in games where I absolutely hammered the guy and I called the foul...my team then gets pissy and says "don't let him have that shit"...OR...my favorite is when the guy you foul tries to act tough and say..."nah, I'm good, I don't need it"...then gets mad when you don't call anymore fouls the rest of the game
That's actually a really good point GM, I've seen that happen too. Sometimes when that happens it almost turns into a football game instead of a basketball game.
I like football.
Your high school didn't even have a football team....
bruce got burned on that one....
Score:
Jack - 1
Bruce - 0
Like many others here, I believe in D calling fouls, with O calling when the defender won't man up and admit what he did. You know you did it, I know you did it, half the other guys probably heard the contact, and I ended up on the ground (just playing the odds here, I'm all of 5'7" and 140 lbs). If more defenders called fouls, the world would be a better, happier, more honest place. Jack, I think this is your campaign to run for public office.
El Cucaracha nailed it on the head with the above comment. In my rec league game on Wednesday we started out with the D calling fouls, but towards the end of the game the O started calling more fouls. Mainly, because we get 2 free throws in the last 2 minutes of the game.
The only time you can really trust a defender to call a foul is if they did it intentionally in trying to stop you from scoring, stopping the clock, etc...
It's all give and take, you just have to find a happy medium. It makes it tough when you play a team full of brutes like we did on Wed. Multiple fouls every time down the court, but you can't call all of them or the game would take 2 hours.
Wow, people actually play with the defense calling fouls? That must be a midwest thing.
In NYC, offense calls fouls. You get hit, you generally let it go (NYC streetball is suppose to be rough and tough), unless you bleed. No blood, no foul.
Okay, sometimes you call it if its one of those slaps that are loud enough to be heard by everyone. You bitchslap someone's arm, you're busted.
But in the end, it doesn't matter if you call a foul or not because you don't shoot FTs here; you just keep possession.
Oh, and that reminds me: If you are down point game, hack the sh*t out of the shooter... you don't let them get off an easy clean shoot to win the game! Everyone knows that to win on point game, you have to man up and get that shot off knowing you are going to get hammered.
I've been in those games...very intense and can turn into...not a lot of fun. I've just played with so many guys who will call fouls on everything when they are on offense. I know when it's 'offense calls fouls' I take advantage of it, too. Hey, I'm trying to win.
Here is how I think of it. If I'm playing defense I figure I need to be honest and call fouls or else there is no chance in Hell that the guy guarding me is going to call a foul when he's on D. Kind of a check/balances deal there.