The play described below is provided for your review and discussion. The rulings given are based on NFHS rules. NCAA rulings may be different.
A-1 drives to the basket on a breakaway. A-1 ends his dribble and bounces the ball hard off the floor. After the ball bounces off the backboard, A-1 jumps, grabs the ball and dunks it.
Handle the situation.
The act of bouncing the ball of the floor is clearly not a try. Even if somehow it could be construed as a try when the ball was thrown to the floor (it wasn’t a try), by rule that “try” would have ended when the ball hit the floor (4-41-4). If this were the case (it wasn’t), then, of course, anyone could recover the loose ball.
The issue is whether it should be ruled as a second dribble. A dribble involves intentionally batting or throwing the ball to the floor. It has long been understood that a dribble does not actually occur until the ball is touched returning from the floor. After all, the player could be throwing a bounce pass when bouncing the ball off the floor.
By rule (4-15-1) any ball that “touches a player’s own backboard” is not part of dribble. This allows a player to pass the ball off the backboard to himself for a highlight dunk. This play adds a new wrinkle to the situation of throwing the ball off the backboard by bouncing it off the floor first and allowing it to hit the backboard. Since the rule (4-15-1) clearly states that such action as described is not part of a dribble since it touched the backboard, the player cannot be guilty of having dribbled a second time.
This was a legal play
(References: Rule 4-15-1)
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While in the backcourt A1 is closely guarded by B2 throws the ball off the back board catches the ball and starts to dribble.
Very Interesting Play. My Question is he bounced it hard off the FLOOR. Is this a misprint. This would constitute another Dribble. If he bounced, it off the backboard this would be a legal Play. Thanks.