Backcourt or not?

[Nevadaref]

Originally posted by assignmentmaker
And indisputably the ball attains frontcourt status when it's dropped in the frontcourt.

Does it? This is the key to understanding this entire play.

Originally posted by assignmentmaker
But the touch which makes A1 the last player to touch the ball before it enters the backcourt and the first player to touch the ball after it enters the backcourt is also the start of a whole new 'state', the dribble.

Well, I'd say you are on the right track with the dribble issue and you also seem to have the timing of this act correct.
When A1 was holding the ball after catching it and before dropping it, he was the last to touch the ball prior to it hitting the floor in the frontcourt. During this time A1 and the ball were considered to be in the backcourt. He then dropped the ball, it hit the floor in the frontcourt, then A1 started a dribble by touching the ball again. That is what the play says, right?


Ok, now that I've told you that, I'll also state I disagree with the answer Tony has provided to this question in the past. However, I won't post what his answer is or why I disagree with it until after he has provided it in the quiz thread. I do not wish to spoil his fun over there or take away from any new official who is learning something by taking the quiz and thinking about the questions for himself.