A1 in front court has ball knocked in the air toward the backcourt by B1. A1 jumps from his front court, catches the ball in the air, and lands in the backcourt. Is this a backcourt violation? Why or why not. Please cite rule reference.

Yes. NFHS 9-9, 4-4, 4-12, 4-35

Sorry, missed the "why/why not" part. A had team control in the front court. Even though B1 knocked it away, A1 was still the last to touch the ball before it went to backcourt, and the first to touch it after it went to backcourt. Tweet.

[Edited by Back In The Saddle on Feb 16th, 2006 at 11:11 AM]

"Team control in the frontcourt" is a slightly misleading phrase. One does need team control and the ball has to have frontcourt status, but consider the following example.

A1, standing in A's backcourt, throws a bounce pass to A2, who is also standing in the backcourt. The ball bounces in the frontcourt. (A1 throws the pass with some spin on the ball.) This is a backcourt violation, even though no A player ever set foot in the frontcourt.

""Team control in the frontcourt" is a slightly misleading phrase. One does need team control and the ball has to have frontcourt status, but consider the following example."

Good point. Your way allows for 9-9-2.