[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Rich

Similarly, it is a violation for a player to purposely or deceitfully delay a return to the court after being out of bounds and be the first to touch the ball in new language added in Rules 9-2-12 and 9-3-4. This change removes the act from Rule 10-4-2, which called for a technical foul and lessens the penalty to a violation.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

9-2-12 & 9-3-4 (NEW): This rule change addresses situations where a thrower purposely and/or deceitfully delays returning inbounds after legally stepping out of bounds and then becomes the first player to touch the ball upon re-entering the court. Previously penalized as a technical foul, this action is now treated as a violation, aligning it with similar out-of-bounds scenarios. The change reduces the severity of the penalty to encourage more consistent enforcement by officials and prevents players from gaining an unfair advantage through deceptive re-entry tactics.

Rationale: This change lessens the penalty for players who delay their return after being out of bounds, shifting the penalty from a technical foul to a less severe violation. This rule aligns with the penalty structure of similar violations, such as Rule 9-3-3 (where a player steps out of bounds on their own volition). The change is intended to make it easier for officials to recognize and penalize these actions consistently while reducing the severity of the penalty, encouraging more accurate enforcement.

It took two, of three, formal requests, but it looks like the NFHS finally listened to me.

Past two years of "player steps out of bounds on their own volition and is first to touch" rule language changes probably helped to encourage the change.

February 12, 2025

NFHS Proposed Basketball Rule Change

Delete Old Rule: Player Technical Foul 10-4-2: A player must not: Purposely and/or deceitfully delay returning after legally being out of bounds. Penalty: (Section 4) Two free throws plus the ball for a division-line throw-in.

Add New Rule: Out Of Bounds Violation 9-3-4: A player must not purposely and/or deceitfully delay returning after legally being out of bounds. Penalty: (Section 4) The ball is dead when the violation occurs and is awarded to the opponents for a throw-in from the designated out of bounds spot nearest the violation.

Many officials don’t call players for purposely delaying returning in bounds because they believe that the penalty of a technical foul is too harsh. The penalty for illegally "coming in" should be similar to the penalty for illegally "going out" (9-3-3).

The NFHS did something similar many years ago with swinging elbows excessively with no contact. Forty-plus years ago it was a violation to do so, then the NFHS changed it to a technical foul. Many officials, believing this to be too harsh a penalty, didn’t charge the technical foul. In response, the NFHS reversed course and changed this illegal act back to a violation.

Same thing happened in 2005-06 when the NFHS changed leaving court for an unauthorized reason from a technical foul to a violation. The rules committee believed that the former penalty of a technical foul was not being assessed and hoped that changing the penalty to a violation would increase the likelihood of the infraction being called and eliminate a tremendous advantage.