Joel Huerto is managing editor of One Man Fastbreak.net and a sports consultant with Opposing Views.com. He has been a member of the sports media for almost 20 years, which included nine years as a news editor at the Los Angeles Times. He will cover a variety of topics, from coach and player profiles to hot-button issues. Joel is also known as "maniLA ice" for his cool demeanor in the friendly confines of the YMCA hardwood. He loves to shoot the "tear drop" and prefers to play zone to hide his deficiencies on defense.
Can someone please explain the difference between a blocking foul and a charging foul? In all my years of playing basketball, whether it's at a recreational league or my yard, if a player goes through a defender, it's a charge. But, if a player goes at an angle and does not forcibly move a defender after he has established position, it's a block or a no call.
With 39 seconds remaining in Thursday night's Pacific 10 Conference game between UCLA and Arizona State, Bruin point guard Darren Collison
seemingly made enough of an effort to go around the Sun Devils' Jeff Pendergraph — his teammate at California's Etiwanda High — on his drive to the basket. Collison's bucket would have tied the score at 69. Instead, he was called for a charge and Arizona State escaped with a 74-67 victory at Wells Fargo Arena, sweeping the season series with the Bruins.
Both teams are 19-5 and most likely will keep their top-25 ranking and ticket to the NCAA tournament, but the victory didn't stop Sun Devil fans from streaming onto the court and igniting a postgame celebration that is usually reserved for beating teams ranked No. 1. Have not seen this kind of excitement at Tempe since Headache Smith made a meaningless basket late in the game, allowing the Sun Devils to cover the spread.
"I thought it was a block. I thought the guy was moving," UCLA coach Ben Howland said.
It didn't look like Pendergraph moved into Collison's air space, but it is also unlikely that Collison's 180-pound force is enough to uproot the 6-9, 240-pound Pendergraph.
Bad timing. Bad judgment. Bad call.
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