Two reasons the video isn't on point. You got the first one but the second is that he didn't grab the ball that was deflected to him and wait for somebody to ask for it back. He stepped onto the court and threw the ball up into the rafters.

We do not know if the individual was a fan, a person with the arena or someone just standing by based on the video alone. But the fact is the person did prevent the ball being in play. Without more information I am not going to completely judge what was going through the mind of the officials.

Peace

In the VCU/St. Bonnie game, the person was a security guard, and the A-10 ruled that he was not to be designated a follower of either team. Same status for the cameraman who came on the court.

Just came across this forum, seems like a great place to talk about officiating. I am a high school referee in upstate Ny and a St Bonaventure grad so this topic has been very tough to be objective on. I also happened to be in attendance that day. Lost in the chaos was the fact the VCU players made no attempt to go after the ball. It went from the basket all the way to the sideline and still a few more seconds passed before any attempt was made. The players were walking back to the bench thinking the game was over until one of them decided to chase after it finally. It was a security guard who picked up the ball and he was trying to keep fans away from the floor (aka doing his job) he just happened to have the ball in his hand. I dont feel a T was warranted for this give there was a camera man on the court the whole time. They initially said the T was for the students storming the court, which was later changed because of the video evidence. Trying to be objective but I feel they botched it. We have seen precedent in Oregon with the UCLA game in December where they students rushed the floor early, they cleared it and then ended the game. I feel common sense should have come into play here but I think the officials got caught up in the atmosphere (it was loud and nuts) and made a bad decision.