Over the Back Foul

An over the back foul is not a foul that can legally be called during a basketball game, but it is a term used to describe complaints that players and coaches may have which may relate to other fouls. Most fouls that would come out of an over the back incident would be considered personal fouls.

What is Over the Back?

An over the back maneuver during a game of basketball would consist of a taller player reaching over the back of a shorter player to retrieve a rebounded ball. Whilst this in itself doesn’t warrant a foul call, any contact that is made as a result of this can be used to justify a foul. Illegal contact can include pushing, shoving, poking or impeding a player’s movements to ensure that they are restricted in some way and unable to play to their full potential.