4 Guys on the floor....

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by zebraman

Possibly. Or perhaps because there is no advantage gained from unknowingly having only 4 players returned and no penalty is needed unless the 5th one joins in while the ball is live? I've often wondered why and would like a clarification from NFHS.

Since there is no advantage to a team playing with only four, why don't we let teams do it whenever they wish, including at the beginning of a game?
Simply because of rules which state that they can't. That's why.