Substitute confusion

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

The player remains a player. No substitute replaced him, so he cannot he bench personnel by rule. He didn’t leave the floor during a live ball, so his action is not a violation for leaving the floor.

I’ve never liked the interpretation, but under NFHS rules the player may re-enter without penalty as long as he returns without advantage.

I have long thought the rule should be that if you are playing with four, either:

a) you play with four until the next opportunity to substitute, or

b) you play with four until your team has the ball or the other team "withholds the ball from play" (or whatever the specific wording is) -- similar to a minor injury.