Substitute confusion

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

Case Play 10.4.2 tells us that if a player leaves the game due to confusion about who is being subbed out, and then runs back onto the court during play, there's no penalty, as long as the player doesn't gain an advantage when returning to the court.

What happens if nobody recognizes the confusion for a couple of possessions?

1) Can the "player" then return from the bench, just like in the case play?

2) If the coach sends the player to the table to "sub" back in, can the player still jump back into the game?

3) What is that team member's status while incorrectly sitting on the bench?
a) Still a player (because he never should've come out of the game)?
b) Team member/bench personnel?
c) Substitute when waiting at the table?

I've had this happen in a varsity game....player was on the court at first and left to sit down as we were inbounding the ball.

The individual is still a player since there was never a substitute to remove player status. That is why they can freely return....the player is supposed to be on the court.

After a timeout, of course, the story would be different but that is because a different rule requires all 5 player to return at approximately the same time...note that they're still players.