when is the ball actually called out of bounds?

When it hits something out of bounds? or what?

I have seen were refs have called it out of bounds before it hit anything. Point being, towards the end of a game, the ref blew the whistle before it hit anything which left .06 seconds on the clock. So the losing team got another chance to tie the ball game. They missed it, but still would like to know what is the call here.

Thanks, smann

Rule 7-1-2

"The ball is out of bounds when it TOUCHES:

a. A player who is out of bounds.
b. Any other person, the floor, or any object on or outside a boundary.
c. The supports or back of the backboard.
d. The ceiling, overhead equipment or supports.

NOTE: When the rectangular backboard is used, the ball is out of bounds if it passes over the backboard.

Rule 7.1.2: The ball is out of bounds when it touches:

a) a player who is out of bounds
b) any other person, the floor, or any object on or outside the boundary
c) the supports or back of the backboard
d) the ceiling, overhead equipment, or supports.

In this case the whistle should not blow until the ball hits someone or something out of bounds.

What about a player who is trying to save the ball while in the air out of bounds??

Dave,
What is the player's location?
mick

Flying thru the air out of bounds, but not touching anything out of bounds but well over the line. Then trying to slap the ball back to another team player.

Until the player lands out of bounds, as long as he departed from IN BOUNDS, he is inbounds even if magically he is 3 feet over the out-of-bounds line :)

Remember in basketball its not where the player is when they are in the air, but where they took off from.

Similar situation, if a player jumps from backcourt and catches the ball coming from the front court before they land, even if they are passed the half-court line, it is a backcourt violation.

Also note that a good official will delay blowing their whistle when the game is settled and blowing it "at the proper time" will leave a small amount of time on the clock. I hate it when it's 74-37 and the clock shows 0.9 seconds.

Then there's always that timer that stops the clock before you blow the whistle and right when the ball hits OOB, so that you have .9 on the clock anyway. :rolleyes: