Jump Stop

[rainmaker]

Gotta define which kind of jump stop. There's

1) catch (or gather) the ball with one foot touching, jump off that foot and then land on both feet. Legal

or

2)catch or gather the ball with both feet touching, then jump and land on both feet. Illegal.

The problem for the ref in #2 is to define when the catch or gather takes place. The move where the dribbler swoops her hand with the ball around a defender while wiggling sideways inbetween with her feet, all while airborne, and then landing past everyone near the basket is the most difficult play to judge, I think. Sometimes, the landing after all this wiggle is step, step, hop. When was the ball "caught"? If before the first step, this is a travel, regardless of any foot details. If after the first step is taken, and the first foot isn't lifted before the second step, this is a travel. But if the ball really isn't caught until after the first step and the first foot is lifted before the second step, this is legal. The whole thing takes less than a second, so it's very difficult to judge.

Sometimes after this two footed landing there is another two footed hop. When was the ball "caught"? Were the feet both on the ground at the same time during the step-step phase?

It takes a lot of experinece to judge these things. A lot of refs don't bother to learn, and that can make for some inconsistency. If we all continue to work on finding the pivot foot, and studying the details, it'll be better for everyone.