Could someone please clear up for me what actually constitutes a jump stop and what a player can/cannot do out of the jump stop? This has to be the most misunderstood rule, and I would like some help in interpreting it. Thanks....

Catch a pass in the air and land on one foot, momentum then carries you forward where you lift that foot and then land on both feet. All you can do is dribble, pass, or shoot.

You have no pivot foot so if you move a foot it is travel. That is unless the ref decides not to call it because he has decided that such things are not important.

If a player lifts a foot (or feet), he may shoot or pass, but must do so before the foot returns to the ground. To say that he may not move a foot could be misunderstood, for example, to mean that he cannot jump to shoot or pass.

So a jump stop cannot occur out of a dribble?

Sure it can. A player may pick up his dribble, take one step, hop off of that foot and land on both feet. Often you'll see the player then jump off of both feet for a shot.

Thanks....tough move for the hundreds of officials in the stands to swallow. I just needed a little interp to reassure myself.

What if the player, off a penetrating drive, gathers his dribble in mid-air (both feet off the floor) and comes to a good two-footed landing? I assume he still has his one and one-half step move available, using either foot as the pivot. Is this correct?

I'm not sure what "one and one-half step" means -- but in the play you describe, either foot can be the pivot.

The problem with this whole discussion is that the term "jump stop" is not defined and is used differently by coaches and officials.

Here's some guidance from the NCAA -- I think it applies equally well to FED:

As a reminder, when a dribbling player initiates a jump, ends his dribble with both feet off the floor and lands simultaneously on two feet (jump stop), he is permitted to establish a pivot foot. When there is doubt as to how many feet were off the floor when the dribble ended, the official shall assume that the dribble ended with both feet off the floor (which is most often the case); consequently, the player, after executing the jump stop, is allowed to establish a pivot foot. When the official does not allow the player to pivot after a jump stop, he shall be absolutely sure that player ended his dribble with only one foot off the floor.

Bob has the best reerence. Jump stops can occur with the player grabbing the ball with either one foot on the floor or both feet in the air. The rules are very different for each case. The most ignored, in my experience, is the rule that making a jump stop off one foot does not allow you a pivot foot. I see players pivoting out of this situation regularly and not being called for it.

No!

Once the dribble is picked up, both feet become eligible to become the pivot. When the step is taken the non step foot becomes the pivot. A hop of off the stepped foot, as you describe, picks the pivot up, still legal at this point. When the pivot lands you now have a travel violation. Casebook 4.33 says nothing about dribbling and a jump stop. It covers the momentum of receiving the pass in the air and continuing on.

Recref is right. When you pick it up with one foot down, you can either leave that foot and jump stop or take a step. Once you take that step, you lose the right to a jump stop.

Sorry, I left out the part where the ball is picked up in mid-stride. :(

So let me clean this up a bit. The move I frequently see is: the dribbler picks up his dribble, in mid-stride, comes down on one foot, goes off of that one foot and lands on both simultaneously, then jumps for a shot.

As originally described, recref's objection is correct.

The key is how many feet on the floor when ball is caught or picked up.

1a) No feet + landing on both = either foot pivot allowed.
b) No feet + landing on 1 foot, then the other = 1st
foot is pivot foot.
2a) One foot on floor + other foot returns = 1st foot is
pivot.
b) One foot on floor + jump onto both feet = no pivot
3a) Both Feet = pivot with either foot.

If there are possiblities let me know.

[Edited by BoomerSooner on Mar 10th, 2004 at 05:17 PM]

That list helps. Its #2b that causes the confusion.

How about this....

A1 dribbles down to the blocks and stops. She pivots on her right foot towards the baseline, then back towards the key. She then plants her left foot, lifts her right foot, and shoots. Travel or not?