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I don't ever want to be too quick on this whistle. In high school, an airborne player who has control of the ball can request such a timeout. For me, all that matters is that I be convinced player has ball control and that the ball was still live when he made the request. If I happen to blow my whistle before or after he lands OOB does not negate the fact that the player made a legitimate TO request and, by rule, should be granted the TO.
In NCAA, a rule change this year makes an airborne player whose momentum carries him/her OOB or into the backcourt (in situations where it would be a B/C violation) unable to make a valid timeout request. In these instances, we MUST be patient for the player to land and determine if the momentum truly carried the player OOB or into the backcourt. If so, then we ignore the request and whistle the violation. If they land inbounds or in the frontcourt (thereby avoiding initially the violation), then we would acknowledge the reuqest and award the timeout.
A valid and legal TO request should be acknowledged and the timeout awarded, even if the awarding is a little late.
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