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Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle
I suppose you could argue that at the point where the dribbler entered the backcourt, the jump ball has clearly ended, and the tosser (not necessarily the R any more) had assumed his role as trail. Backcourt is primarily his call. So technically he's got a legitimate beef here.
However, in those first few chaotic seconds after the jump, when everybody is in process of setting up the first play, there is little to be gained by getting territorial. Call what you see.
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Yes, the jumpball technically ends when the nonjumper touches the ball, but that play clearly isn't over. We all know that it is better for the official who has seen the whole play to make the call in any situation. No one advocates that catching the tail end of something leads to consistently good decisions.
I do agree with your overall conclusion. That being that until the action settles and the direction of play is clearly determined, for mechanics purposes the officials are still in a jumpball situation and during this chaotic period both officials have to help each other and call what they see. I would still give more priority to the Umpire for the actions of the eight nonjumpers in this case.
Perhaps when a jumpball ends in the language of the mechanics manual has to be considered to be different than when it ends according to the rulesbook. Afterall, the game is officiated by humans and they need time to shift from one thing to another during continuous game play. It is unreasonable to expect people to transition robotically.