Quote:
Originally posted by Jurassic Referee
That's the key word right there-- "unauthorized"
Teammates of a thrower are authorized and can legally be OOB during a non-spot throw-in, as per the rules I cited. Those rules are still in the book and haven't changed.
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See that, we agree. Teammates are authorized to be OOB during a baseline throw-in.
And, we also agree the key word is "unauthorized". The NF has given us an unauthorized reason for leaving the court, and that is to use a screen and the OOB to get away from a defender. They say we must take away that tremendous advantage. And that is what happened here - the player used the screen and OOB to evade the defender.
Now, I know I'm on shaky ground when I say that means we have to determine intent. And Dan, I agree it also says we must call the violation as soon as the player steps OOB, and we certainly can't determine intent until they go back in. But it also doesn't say, "except during non-spot throw-ins".
What if this screen happened along the sideline instead of the endline, during this throw-in? It would be a violation, right? But, 7-5-7 says they may pass the ball along the endline to a teammate(s) outside the boundary line. It doesn't say the teammate has to be outside the endline. So, can the teammate(s) be OOB anywhere on the court?
I guess I'm using the "intent" to be able to justify both being able to be OOB during this throw-in, AND not using the screen just to eliminate the defender, which is the exact example given by the NF as an unauthorized reason for leaving the court. I would certainly like to see a clarification from the NF, although that would eliminate my popcorn-eating.