Coach Interference

[ODog]

That's a great clip. Don't know that I've seen that before.

I dug up the game and watched a little more. The coach is definitely an *******. That much is obvious, so I definitely wouldn't rule out intent here, as he clearly is all prepped to play the "Who me?" defense. He even has his hands in the air in the "Ladies and gentlemen, I am not a criminal" pose on the ensuing inbounds out of the timeout, as the official is simply trying to get him to move away from the inbounds spot.

Whether we like it or not, many throw-ins take place IN the coaching box. Hell, one of the four designated frontcourt throw-in spots IS the coaching box -- which happened on successive plays here. So whether he's properly in the box is not really relevant here. If the throw-in is in the box too, then the coach had better relocate.

The coach is also eager to make a meal out of the spot on the second throw-in (not in the clip), desperate for the second throw-in to be on the endline. And the official does a great job, again, seemingly patiently explaining the spot logic to the coach, who just won't stop and wants no part of it.

He is clearly trying to play the "I'm just a zany and passionate coach" character and using it as a veil to be an irritant. Can you tell I'm not a fan of the 15 seconds I've seen from him?

Back to your questions: If I observed this, I would rule it OOB on Black because the coach touched it. White bears no responsibility for a member of opposing bench personnel touching the ball. So we'll have another throw-in at the same spot. At which point I would kindly warn the coach not to be anywhere in the area code of the throw-in, as there can be no possibility of this happening again. And then we're going technicals after that if he refuses to comply or somehow manages to do this again.

I'm not even bothering with the rules book on this one. This is Trial Law.