Resuming Play Procedure
 

I am watching the JV game prior to the varsity I was scheduled to officiate. Blue team calls a full time out with 1:00 minutes remaining before the half. Both teams come back onto the floor - Blue team has 5 players and White has 5 players, but one of the white players gets confused and returns to the bench, prior to the offiicial handing the ball to the Blue team after the time out. So Blue has 5 players and White has 4 players. The game resumes and at the next dead ball the White player comes back into the game. The Blue coach wanted a Technical foul during the time White only had 4 players, since the White team was not ready with all 5 for play at the end of the time out. The blue coach chased down the official at the end of the half and waned to know why the White team did not get a 'T'. The Blue coach proceeded to explain that this happened last year to him. He got a 'T' for not having all the players ready.

(1) If white was not ready at all, you would hand the ball to blue and go according to the RPP. So to me there is no difference in my mind.

(2) Since the White player waited to come in at the next dead ball like a sub, I still don't have an issue. What would of happen is the white player ran onto the floor during play? --> 'T' for illegal substitution.

(3) I explained to the the JV officials that could be avoided if both of them would have counted the number of players on both teams and making sure that both teams had 5 players each before handing the ball in. I asked them did both teams have 5 players. They didn't recall.

(4) Withthe way things happened I think the JV officials handled things as best as they could.

Any other thoughts?

I got nothing. I'm not sure I can justify a T here by rule.

I've only seen this once when I didn't catch it, and the player proceeded to run onto the court during a live ball. We ended up calling the T for illegal substitution. However, I'm not sure that was the right call, now. Once she was on the court, she was a legal player and it was too late to call it. They didn't have 6 on the court, so nothing there.
Other than not prodding the coach for a 5th player, I think the JV crew did just fine here.

Case book play 10.3.3SitB.

grammatically speaking, this interp could be viewed as ambiguous, but it seems to me that the meaning is clear. The T is for coming onto the court during the action, and not for having only 4 players.

The part about players all returning to the court at approximately the same time is aimed at coaches who stall for more time by not sending their players all out at once. A player who never goes out at all until the next dead ball isn't the point here.

The coach was correct. This should have been a team technical foul.
10-1-9 A team shall not:
. . . Fail to have all players return to the court at approximately the same time following a time-out or intermission.
PENALTY: (Section 1) Two free throws plus ball for division-line throw-in.

For a situation that is not after a time-out or intermission, such as a normal substitution process there is no rule that calls for a T if the player remains off the court. If the player returns during playing action then it is a T by 10.3.3SitB as JR cited.

But according to the OP, they did have all five players return to the court at approximately the same time. It would seem that the purpose of the T is to penalize for the delay of game. In this case, they all go out and one returns to the bench in error. No one noticed and play goes on. No delay.

Calling a T in this case seems like overkill. I guess it's all a matter of objective interpretation. Kinda like calling that incidental foul on the arm.

But we gotta follow the rules....right?;)

FWIW it's worth this used to be a T on the player who went and sat on the bench for leaving the floor for an unauthorized reason although it was rarely called that way, but that rule was changed to simply a violation last year and the NFHS commented that the violation was for leaving during play. Now there is no penalty in situations that do not follow a TO or intermission.