Dribble question
 

A1 and B1 are both chasing down a long rebound. A1 slaps the ball to the floor once and then gathers it with both hands and stops. He then dribbles.

Legal or double dribble?

4.15 COMMENT:
It is not possible for a player to travel during a dribble. A player is not dribbling while slapping the ball during a jump, when a pass rebounds from his/her hand, when he/she fumbles, or when he/she bats a rebound or pass away from other players who are attempting to get it. The player is not in control under these conditions. It is a dribble when a player stands still and bounces the ball. It is not a dribble when a player stands still and holds the ball and touches it to the floor once or more than once.

I'd suggest you loot at it this way: was the slap to the floor a controlled dribble? If so, you would have a double dribble. If not, the the player only dribbled once, and there is no violation. I would think the latter is the more common occurrence (as suggested by neevadaref's post).

Yes.

That is, it could be either depending on whether the official judges the "slap" to be a dribble or to be "batting the ball away from an opponent" (or whatever the specific rules wording is.

When a player who does not have control of the ball slaps, taps, or bats a loose ball, I have always taught to error on the side of no PC of the ball.

MTD, Sr.

What's Up Doc ???
 

Dr. Naismith taught you well.

Sometimes Dr. Naismith was difficult to understand, since he spoke in Canadian. ;)

Complete judgment call. Sometimes players sticks their hands out and never have control of the ball and it hits the floor. I would likely not call anything unless I am sure they had the ball. Usually these situations the player never has the ball in their control. Play on.

Peace

You could judge this to be a dribble, and the rules wouldn't really contradict you, but don't be a Lone Ranger here.

As described in the OP (ie two players going for a loose ball) that tap is more than likely not going to be controlled enough to call it a dribble.

Here's a play where it would be a double dribble on this type of thing. He tapped it away from the defender a first time, then a second time, pushed it to the floor then gathered the ball. Then dribbled. So you can say that he had control after the first tap.

Go to the 20:23 mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeGuKZtAxyc

While the official did call a double dribble, he should have called a travel since that happened before the dribble. Definite step with the pivot foot before beginning dribble.

Though going on the topic of the discussion, first tap doesn't appear to be control, second is much closer to control than not.