You were right last season. You are wrong this season. Reorganization of the rules removed this from throw-in violations and placed it in OOB violations. Likely due to a discussion on this forum.
Do I recall that discussion? Let's see...did you read what I wrote in the first post of this thread?
In fact, I was the one who pointed out that the NFHS rule did not include the word legally while the NCAA rule did. Therefore, I took the position that in an NFHS game the clock should start and stop per rule. I also stated that the NFHS should change this. Furthermore, when the NFHS announced that they were changing how a throw-in ended by adding the word legally to rule 4-42-5, I quickly noted that they should make sure to also alter the clock rule to match.
Yep, and the scary thing is that they agree with me on some items!
Yes, the throw-in is completed when a player who is touching OOB contacts the ball in a legal manner. That means that he doesn't kick it or punch it with a closed fist.
Yes, the NFHS considers the touch itself to be legal. However, the position of the player is not legal. The player is penalized with an OOB violation per 9-3-2.
There is no contradiction with the "kicked-ball ruling" provided in new case book play 4.42.5 and the clock should not start in either case.
What you are missing is that the clock rule is completely separate from the rule which governs how a throw-in ends. The clock rule (5-9-4 which is the subject of this thread) now reads "...is legally touched by, a player
on the court..." That means a player who is inbounds. So the clock only starts when an inbounds player legally contacts the ball.
If an OOB player contacts the ball directly from a throw-in pass, the throw-in will end if the contact was legal or won't end if the contact was illegal, but either way the clock will not start. Why? Because two separate rules must be applied. One to decide whether the throw-in will end or not and another which says that the clock only starts on the legal touch of an inbounds player. So strictly speaking the second rule here (5-9-4) doesn't apply to the given situation (because the touching player is OOB) and thus the clock can't be started.
Stated in a simpler way, in order for the clock to be started the player initially touching the ball from the throw-in pass must meet two requirements:
1. contact the ball legally
2. be on the court (= inbounds)
I hope that clears it up for you.
