[JRutledge]

Originally posted by Nevadaref
The ball was being held out high by an AZ guard. He was on the C's side of the court a couple of steps away from both the division line and the sideline. The C was top of the key extended or maybe a little higher, watching the play. Remember, AZ is ahead by 8 with 2 minutes to play, so they are in a spread offense attempting to run some clock.
The defender slapped the ball away from the AZ player who, in his attempt to recover it, then slapped it down to the floor himself. All replays I saw show that the ball bounced in the frontcourt after he hit it. When he caught to ball, still standing very near to where he started, the C called the backcourt violation. Again, the T, who was standing directly on the division line on the opposite side of the court, did not have a whistle.

The C might have been the only official that saw the entire play. That is a good call from the C, because the play was in his primary all the way. The T might have been guessing and might have been watching something else. The C cannot just pass on this crucial call because it is not his primary. But this is his secondary call and sounded like a good call. Even in my pregames I address plays like this and situations that the C should and can call a backcourt violation. Might have been something that not only was discussed, but taught by evaluators.

Peace