Hand part of the ball?

[Jay R]

Originally Posted by crazy voyager

yes, at least when I'm officiating the game...
it's not illegal to slap the ball when in contact with the hand though. (if it were, I don't see how we were to block shots in any easy way) I belive how ever once upon a time before my short basketball playing and officiating started, it was illegal to slap at the ball when it still had contact with the hand during a shot. I can't swear on it though since I wasn't around to know

Crazy,

I think you're right about the rulebook. But here in Canada, every official that I've worked with uses the same principle as our American friends. The hand is part of the ball, figuratively speaking.

I would be curious as to what is the official FIBA interpretation? I find it hard to believe that it would be a foul in International basketball to slap the hand of a player holding the ball. Then again, this is the same organization that says it not basket intereference for a defensive player to touch the ball by going through the bottom of the basket.

J