FIBA uses the cylinder principle to determine if contact was illegal. The concept is that a player may not extend his limbs or bend his body in a way that is not normal. In this system there is an imaginary cylinder occupied by each player. The cylinder is limited to
- The front by the palms of the hands.
- The rear by the buttocks.
- The sides by the outside edge of the arms and legs.
The arms are not allowed to be farther in front than the feet, and should be bent at the elbows so that the forearms and hands are raised. The cylinder extends from the floor to the ceiling (so the player can jump and remain in his cylinder).
A player can occupy any cylinder not already occupied by the opponent. The cylinder he occupies is protected, that is, no-one else is allowed to step or reach into it. If there is a breach of this principle, then there is a possible foul, which the official may or may not penalise after deciding if it placed the opponent at a disadvantage.
The NBA does not use the cylinder principle to judge contact; it only says that a player may not bend or reach in a position that is not normal (and that a player may not push, hold, and so on).
Read more about this topic: Personal Foul (basketball), Principles
Famous quotes containing the words cylinder and/or principle:
“The outline of the city became frantic in its effort to explain something that defied meaning. Power seemed to have outgrown its servitude and to have asserted its freedom. The cylinder had exploded, and thrown great masses of stone and steam against the sky.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“The principle of majority rule is the mildest form in which the force of numbers can be exercised. It is a pacific substitute for civil war in which the opposing armies are counted and the victory is awarded to the larger before any blood is shed. Except in the sacred tests of democracy and in the incantations of the orators, we hardly take the trouble to pretend that the rule of the majority is not at bottom a rule of force.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)