This will prevent unnecessary acts by either of the players. The start clock signal is also a very important signal and should always be used when we chop in time. As we near the end of a period in a very close game, if you have the opportunity, please remind the timer that you will be 'chopping' time in when the ball is legally touched on the court. Blocking is open hands to the waist, not fists banged on the waist. The signals we see on television are not the signals we want for high school basketball.
Lets concentrate on our mechanics, lets practice our mechanics and lets use the proper mechanics.
Closely guarded counts have become very inconsistent and in some cases, non existent. We did a better job of closely guarded before college basketball went to a shot clock and we eliminated the 28 foot lines in our mid-court area. However, that is behind us. One, if properly administered, counting the closely guarded will cause the offense to keep the ball moving, and not allow a player to control or dominate control of the game. Secondly, it will eliminate some of the handchecking in our game.