After stepping off the court at the conclusion of each game, LSU junior guard Anthony Hickey expects a call from his father, Anthony Hickey Sr.
“He don’t ever tell me the good things,” Hickey joked. “[He] always tells me what I do bad on defense.”
Specifically, Hickey Sr. chides his son’s propensity to use his hands while defending, a more critical mistake now that the NCAA rule changes regarding fouls are in place.
Referees began a crackdown on handchecks and outlined a more rigid interpretation of the block-charge rule this season, resulting in early season games plagued by numerous whistles.
LSU (10-5, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) wasn’t immune from the carnage, as it was whistled for 29 fouls in its season-opening 92-90 loss at UMass.
But since that foul-happy opener, the Tigers said they have settled in to the new rules.
“I think we kind of get a feel of what’s really a foul and what’s not,” said senior guard Andre Stringer. “We just have to move our feet and play angles better than we have in the past.”
Stringer said the team was introduced to the new rules in preseason scrimmages in Houston and Baton Rouge, and after the initial shock wore off, it was time to adjust.
The Tiger coaches instructed the guards to practice with towels tied around their waist to put more emphasis on defending by moving their feet, which Hickey said was a helpful teaching tool.
For the frontcourt, though, the adjustment took some time.
The new block-charge clarification states a “defensive player is not permitted to move into the path of an offensive player once he has started his upward motion with the ball to attempt a field goal or pass.”
And if the defensive player isn’t in legal guarding position at the time of the pass or shot, it’s a defensive blocking foul. The previous rule stated the defender must take legal guarding position by the time the offensive player lifted off the floor.
Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said Tuesday he hasn’t seen consistency with the new rules. His Aggies — which sit tied with Florida atop the SEC standings — ranked 24th in the NCAA for fouls, averaging 16.7 fouls per game as a team.
“I still think it’s a work in progress,” Kennedy said. “The block-charge call has been one area that’s supposed to have been cleaned up. The majority of them were going to be blocks [and] it would be real difficult to call a charge under the new rules and I haven’t seen that consistently called.”
Kennedy and LSU coach Johnny Jones agreed that consistency is attainable and will come with time, as both referees and players adjust to the new rules.
For now, Hickey said he will continue to heed the advice of his father.
On occasion.
“[My dad] tells me I’m holding them a little bit too much, if [the opponent’s] back is against me, I am touching them a little too much,” Hickey said. “It is a foul, and they will call it.”
“But I do it so fast and sneaky.”