NCAA Tournament (Elite 8 Games) Video Requests - Saturday and Sunday

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by bucky

See what you are saying but don't quite agree. I feel that what comes after does determine everything. It can't be considered a dribble unless he is first to touch the ball after releasing it and it hitting the floor. Since defender was first to touch ball after it was released, there is nothing illegal about this play. We have all seen the case where a player jumps to shoot, is going to get blocked, and releases the ball to the floor as a dribble, as it comes back to his possession. Classic travel case. (always good entertainment to have this happen in a heated pick-up game and watch the argument unfold)

It is either a dribble the moment it leaves the player's hands or it isn't. Where it goes next really isn't relevant. If it goes to another player, it sometimes just becomes an interrupted dribble. Sometimes, it is unclear whether the player was passing to a nearby player but if there is no teammate in the area where the ball is released, it is, by definition a dribble when the player deliberately releases the ball to the floor and not towards another player. Waiting for another player to come get the ball doesn't make it a pass. If they wanted it to be a pass, they'd throw it towards someone, not to the floor at their feet.