Double Dribble?
 

There is a loose ball after a rebound. Player A runs to the ball and begins dribbling. She never picks the ball up, simply starts dribbling "off the bounce".

After two dribbles, the ball slips away toward the sideline. The same player taps the ball ahead, to avoid it going out of bounds.

She remains fully inbounds, runs to the ball before anyone else touches it and starts another dribble "off the bounce".

One referee calls double dribble.

The explanation I was given was, the two dribbles showed control and when she tapped it ahead, she could now pick it up with both hands, but could nto dribble.

That makes no sense to me. The only thing I can think of is, someone where along the line, the referee thought she grabbed it with both hands, although I have no idea where.

He was standing with a clear view of the play.

Am I missing some part of a rule that would cause what she did to be a violation?

You missed nothing. The action as described was legal.

If she had been able to pick it up with two hands as described, that means she didn't previously grab it with two hands as that final grab would have then been a double dribble.

Some officials mistakenly believe that the dribble must remain close to the dribbler and/or that there is a limit on the number of steps a player can take between dribbles. But, there are no such limits.

Perhaps the other official thought she controlled and held the ball somehow when she tapped the ball ahead, otherwise as you described it all sounds legal. If he thought the tap ahead was more of a fumble, then she could run and pick up the ball again, but not dribble again.


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I noticed you said "she stayed fully inbounds". By the way , she could have gone out of bounds and come back inbound and be the first to touch the ball.

Thanks
 

Thanks,

After talking to the seventh grade the next day and thinking back to exactly what the official said, how he said and his reaction to our reaction, etc. I believe he thought that the player picked the ball up, as opposed to tapping in back in.

How he missed it, I'm not sure, but it happens.

We won by double digits, so no harm, no foul.

maybe he thought she grabbed it. Even a brief grab would be enough to warrant the call he made.

Eh. Not really. Especially as a dribbler it better be clear it's not a controlled dribble.

1) You can't dribble, step on an out of bounds line, come back in and dribble again. This is a violation. The only exceptions are being off-balance/taking a shot and momentum carrying you out of bounds and coming back in for rebound/etc.

2) Running OOB can also be judged as a violation.

The 'tap ahead' in this play could very well be judged a dribble. It's a violation if it's touched by the same player first.

If you are dribbling the ball it is a violation the moment you step on the line. the coming back in/first to touch stuff doesn't matter. You have player control. If it is an interrupted dribble there is no player control. If you run out of bounds of your own volition you have committed a leaving the floor for unauthorized reason violation.

If the dribble was interrupted, and your momentum makes you step out of bounds all you have to do is reestablish yourself inbounds. one foot inbounds with the other in the air is enough. you can go continue the dribble then.

In this case maybe the "tap ahead" was done underhanded. If the hand was under the ball the dribble ended. Dribbling it again would be double dribble. just a thought.

I've never heard this before. Why has the dribble ended if the hand was under the ball? Players can dribble by hitting under the ball, but they just have to wait until it hits the floor every time to touch the ball again.

I was thinking that maybe he saw a hand under the ball and thought it came to rest for a moment.

Ahh, gotcha. Then the official made the right call.

Or the most obvious answer is that it's a 7th grade game and the official isn't exactly Dick Bavetta.

Incorrect. Having the hand under the ball does not end the dribble. It is legal for the hand to be under the ball and continue to dribble if the ball isn't caught. Having the hand under the ball doesn't equate the ball being caught. It could be batted/tapped.

I know i didn't say it right. cleared it up in a subsequent post. If the ball comes to rest, for even a moment, the dribble is over. I was trying to say this may be what official thought he saw etc

Interrupted Dribble ...
 

Dad: Are you confusing two different rules?

4-15-6: Out-of-bounds violation does not apply on the player involved in the interrupted dribble.

9-3-1-Note: The dribbler has committed a violation if he/she steps on or outside a boundary, even though he/she is not touching the ball while he/she is out of bounds.

And then, there's this: If a player's momentum carries him or her off the court, he, or she, can be the first player to touch the ball after returning inbounds. That player must not have left the court voluntarily, and must immediately return inbounds. That player must have something in, and nothing out. It is not necessary to have both feet back inbounds. It is a violation for a player to intentionally leave the court for an unauthorized reason.