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9-1-3-e: The free thrower shall not have either foot beyond the vertical plane of the edge of the free-throw line which is farther from the basket or the freethrow semicircle line.
The key for me is the word "beyond." Standing ON the semicircle is not placing a foot beyond it. The rule clearly states that for the FT line the farther edge from the basket is the edge which a foot may not be beyond.
JR and I disagree about which edge of the 2" wide FT semicircle restricts the thrower. I believe that it is the same edge which restricts the players not in marked lane spaces along the FT lane. So the thrower gets the arc, but the players outside of the 3pt area do not. The latter is point which JR mentions. Note what is the mathematical line of demarcation here. It is the outermost edge or the arc. There is no neutral zone between the FT shooter and the players outside of the 3pt area provided for in the rules.
Also, if one consults the court diagram in the front of the rules book, one can see that the apex of the 3pt arc is exactly 25 feet from the end line and has a radius of six feet as measured from a point at the center of the FT line which is farther from the end line. The farther edge of FT line is 19 feet from the end line and 15 feet from the plane of the backboard.
In order to give the FT shooter his full six feet of space one has to give him the arc. To not do so would be to only allow him five feet and ten inches of vertical depth.
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