What is a block in high school basketball?

Answer 1

The offensive player I.E. the player with the ball has a right to occupy his own space and progress into unoccupied space on the floor. The defensive player can not impede the forward motion of the offensive player. Therefore a defensive player must be in place and stationary before the offensive player gets to any spot in his path. A block occurs when the defensive player is not "established position" when in the path of an offensive player. This of course is all subjected to the interpretation of the referee who decides if the defensive player has "established position". In reality the collisions usually occur at such a fast pace that it would be impossible for a reasonable person to determine if one person was first to the spot of the collision. Watch any Basketball game and you will see this on most every "block" or charge, the opposite of block, where the offensive player collides with a defensive player who has "established position". But it is the best system currently to determine if a foul has occured