Out of Bounds rule 9-3

[BktBallRef]

Originally posted by Hawks Coach
As for Tony, he agrees it is the start of the dribble, and now we disagree about the meaning of some words in the interrupted dribble rule. With no clear guidance, neither side is technically wrong, it's just a matter of how you interpret the spirit, meaning and intent of the rule. If you pass on the OOB call, you had an interrupted dribble, so play on!

Here's the problem.

If you rule that it's the start of a dribble, there is no interrupted dribble, and there is player control, then you have to call the violation immediately when the dribbler steps OOB, based on 9-3.

But we actually have no way of knowing if it's a dribble or not until the player returns inbounds and retrieves the ball. That's why I will always rule that it momentarily got away from him, thus an interrupted dribble, no player control, and no violation.