Held Ball Player Control
 

During a “junior varsity” middle school (yes, we have them) girls game yesterday, I asked the site director (in this case the home team head coach) to have a fan removed. The fan was extremely loud (could not be ignored) and obnoxious while complaining about “rough play” and “someone‘s going to get hurt” (no profanity) while I was calling a held ball with severe but legal “action” (with both, one much stronger, “wrestling” for the ball).

The head coach cooperated and ejected the fan. By coincidence, the girls high school head coach happened to be at the site and escorted the fan out of the gymnasium.

I’ve got pretty thick skin; it was only the second time in forty-five years that I had asked a site director to have a fan removed.

On the ride home I was reflected on this play and came up with some questions not directly about this play.

These are questions about “player control”, specifically “holding the ball”, immediately prior to, or during, held ball situations.

1) A1 is dribbling in his frontcourt and loses the” handle” on the ball and it bounces away for him on the floor. A2 and B2 simultaneously pick the ball off the floor, both having two (yeah, I know the new rule) hands solidly on the ball. They “wrestle” for possession. Neither player moves a pivot foot. Before a whistle for a held ball, do either, or both, A2 and/or B2 have player control? Did Team A ever actually lose team control? Did Team B ever gain team control?

2) A1 shoots a try for goal that misses and rebounds. A2 and B2 simultaneously grab the rebounded ball, both having two (yeah, I know the new rule) hands solidly on the ball. They “wrestle” for possession. Neither player illegally moves a pivot foot. Before a whistle for a held ball, do either, or both, A2 and/or B2 have player control? Does either, or both, Team A and/or Team B have team control?

Can two opposing players both have player control (holding the ball) at the same time? Can two teams both have team control at the same time?

Add to these questions the complication of a timeout being requested, a request only granted to the team with player control (holding the ball).

3) A1 shoots a try for goal that misses and rebounds. A2 and B2 simultaneously grab the rebounded ball both having two hands solidly on the ball. They “wrestle” for possession. Before a held ball is whistled, A2 illegally moves his pivot foot while B2 does not illegally move his pivot foot. Did A2 travel?

After 45 years I don't see a reason to change or worry about it.

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Player Control And Held Balls
 

My questions probably didn't require an introduction.

Sorry if I distracted from my held ball player control questions.

Aggressively Pull The Ball Away ...
 

A2 illegaly moved his pivot foot immediatey prior to a possible whistle for a held ball due to B2's attempt to aggressively pull the ball away from A2.

Basketball Rules Fundamentals
16. The official’s whistle seldom causes the ball to become dead (it is already dead).

But what if I was still waiting to see if I could avoid calling a held ball?

4-25-1Held Ball: A held ball occurs when: Opponents have their hands so firmly on the ball that control cannot be obtained without undue roughness.

Control was "obtained" the instant that both players put four hands on the ball.

Why do many of us wait split seconds to see if one can "wrestle" control from the other?

The most prudent thing to do is call a held ball.

I don't know why anybody would want to call a travel and then have to explain to the coach. Everybody in the gym would expect a held ball to be called

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Held Ball ...
 

So, when two opponents get four (for ease of explanation) hands on the ball and only one travels, this should always be called a held ball.

I fully agree in real game situations, and always do such in my games, but I'm not sure that the rule language supports this.

Now, how about my timeout / held ball questions?

Causation ...
 

...i.e., the held ball caused the travel.

So whoever yells "time out" first while two players have the ball, that determines who's possession it was?

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Timeout ...
 

That's what I'm asking.

In situations such as this, can two opposing players both have player control (holding the ball) at the same time, and if such players actually do have player control, what's to prevent a timeout request from one player (or, yikes, both players) being granted?

Change Of Status ...
 

Back in ancient times we had something called “Change of Status”.

The "Change of Status" rule primarily dealt with the transition of the ball from live to dead (or vice versa).

When it came to a held ball (two players wrestling for control), the rule was used to determine if a team could save the possession with a timeout.

As soon as two opponents both have firm hands on the ball, a held ball occurs. This is a "Change of Status" where player control is lost. Under the old status rules, if the official judged that the status had changed due to a held ball (even if the whistle hadn't blown yet), the timeout request was denied because player control no longer existed.

“Change of Status” also denied requests for timeouts when 80% of a count had been reached; four seconds of a five second count (inbounding, closely guarded), and eight seconds of a ten second count.

Am I correct in my explanation Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.?

Neither Player ...
 

Could it be that in situations such as this that when two opponents have four (yeah I know the new rule) hands "holding" (definition of player control) on to the ball, that neither player is considered to have player control (for timeout request purposes)?

I think it's more like the ruling when a violation and a foul happen at "the same time" -- officials must determine which happened first.

And, as Raymond said, the held ball happened first. ;)

So just to be clear. If two opponents are holding the ball simultaneously, whichever team requests a timeout Is awarded possession of the ball?

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Change Of Status ...
 

That's what I'm asking, not in a real game, but in the rule language.

Up until 2003-04 (I thought it was way before that) the requesting and granting of timeouts was somewhat clear.

Rule 5, Section 8, Article 3: A timeout shall not be granted if it would involve a change of status of the ball (paraphrased).

After the NFHS removed change of status (live to dead or vice versa) from the rulebook, I don't believe that the replacement rule language ever quite "caught up" to such held ball timeout request situations.

Too Late ...
 

I actually remember ancient coaches trying to avoid violations (five seconds, ten seconds) and/or to maintain possession in an imminent held ball situation by requesting a timeout and ancient me telling them, "No, too late, change of status".