In homage to Tony: there are four required elements to a backcourt violation. If any one of the four is missing, it is NOT a violation.
- There must be team control.
- The ball must have front court status.
- The ball must have been last touched by the team in control before going to backcourt.
- The ball must be first touched by the team in control after having gone to backcourt.
In the OP, there is no team control. Tapping is not controlling. Holding or dribbling is controlling. If you judge that he actually caught the ball then threw it, by all means count that as team control. In my game, there is going to have to be a clear catch, obvious control, and then a separate throwing motion. "Prolonged contact" doesn't do it for me in basketball.
