A1 attempts to pass the ball to A2 but A2 cuts thru the lane, A1 goes and gets his pass before any player touches it. it this a vioaltion if (A) A1 passes the ball before he dribbles or(B) A1 passes the ball after he dribbles? thank you.

1. If A1 catches the pass before it hits the floor, then he has committed an illegal dribble violation.

2. If A1 allows the pass to bounce on the floor before getting it, then it depends upon whether or not A1 had already dribbled.
a. no previous dribble = legal play (this "pass" was his dribble)
b. already dribbled = double dribble violation (the bounce pass constitutes a second dribble.)

There was a FED interp on this a year ago. It should still be posted on the NFHS website.

Only one thing to add here. If A1 never stops his dribble for the pass, and in effect sends a "dribble pass," he can chase it down. He has two options. Catch it and stand still, not able to dribble again; or continue his dribble, thus making the whole pass nothing more than an interrupted dribble.

While I concede that it is possible to throw a one-handed pass without holding the ball, the vast majority of the time having the ball come to rest in the hand preceeds a pass.

Also, this cannot be considered an interrupted dribble because the ball did not unintentionally get away from the dribbler. What he did was deliberate.

I'm talking about a very specific play, usually on a fast break, where the one leading the break essentially redirects the dribble into a pass. It happens regularly enough to note in this discussion. The ball no more comes to rest in the hand than when a dribbler changes direction.