Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Physical Basketball - "Saints and Sinners?"

“Basketball is not a contact sport. It is a collision sport.”

One of the hardest things in life is to "unlearn" what you know, to unsolve what you have already solved wrongly. In college, organic chemisty Professor Von Doering (who reminded me of Captain Ahab) gave us unlimited time with Saturday exams. "To help you correct what you've solved incorrectly." 

The same principle applies to sport, basketball, and media. Everyone should want their brand to be toughness. There's an ill-defined line between physical basketball and 'dirty' play. 

We played a team in middle school where the opponents literally "knocked out" four of our players during the game. It wasn't marginally "tough ball." It was "gorilla ball," attempt to injure. I wrote the League Commissioner and never got a reply. Our girls persisted and won anyway. 

In high school, one team knocked two of our players out, one being future WNBA player Shey Peddy. Another player was injured by a two-handed shove into the bleachers. That's not physical play. That's not 'toughness'. In the return match, the girls asked for free reign to demolish the opponents. They led 42-10 after 10 minutes when the coach "called off the dogs." Point made. 

Physical play

  • Solid screens with feet set with solid base
  • Blockouts that resist opponent contact
  • Taking charges from "legal guarding position"
  • Fighting over screens.
  • Denying cuts 
  • First to the floor for loose balls.
Over the top
  • Not "basketball plays" 
  • Submarining players
  • Intentional/habitual moving screens (taught by some coaches)
  • Gratuitous contact to the head and neck 
  • Flying elbows
  • Intent to injure
Many players, coaches, and teams understand that when aggressive play goes "over the line," Frontier justice usually ensues. When officials don't control the game, problems inevitably arise. 

Currently, there's a "saints and sinners" narrative on social media, often centered around the Indiana Fever. 


The narrative can't become, "she was frustrated" versus "she's a dirty player." 


There was a thread of "dirty plays" committed by a Fever player which was removed by X.com. 

Deterrence 

Some coaches preach, "do it to them before they do it to you." I disagree. An opponent had given a cheap shot to one of our girls, and a player approached me, "Should I take her out." I answered, "You mean, to lunch?" Teaching dirty play is not the answer. 

I would say to the officials before games, "Keep the kids safe." I didn't tell them how to officiate.

The latest trend is public officials seeking their '15 minutes of fame'. 

Officiating

When officials "call it loose" or "let a lot of contact go," they can create a pressure cooker of emotions. That's why pressure cookers became IEDs. Calling fouls sends a message that you can't hit people indiscriminately. 

Nowhere in Jay Bilas's "Toughness" article or book does he countenance dirty play. That's not who he is.

Sometimes, sports and politics mix to form a toxic cauldron of commentary. Basketball has always been a physical game and every player, coach, and league has to navigate the boundaries. The players who cry about physical play and commit the same actions need to look in the mirror and at the video. 

Lagniappe. "Being useful before the meeting starts is how you earn the right to lead it." That goes for pregame meetings, practice schedules, playbooks, and video review. 

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