muffed pass, then dribble

[Hawks Coach]

Originally posted by Rev.Ref63
I apologize if my scenario wasn't clear. A player is receiving a pass and his defender has a play on the ball as well. To avoid having the ball stolen, he bats the ball to the ground as opposed to catching it. The ball bounces once then he catches it. Does he still have his dribble? I lean towards "no" in this case.

I lean strongly toward the defensive tap/bat being considered to be uncontrolled, regardless of how it "controlled" it looks. If the defender elects to bat the ball rather than try to catch it, I rarely see this interpreted as control at any level and would not expect it to be considered control. That is expecting too much of the defender. I teach my players to bat towards backcourt on all passes to wing or to point, pick up the first opportunity they get to gain control of the ball, and then commence their dribble. Not clear if this is exactly your sitch, but I have trouble imagining a situation in which I would call this the start of the dribble.

In tap situation, regardless of any apparent control over tap, benefit of doubt should go to defense. Allow them to establish clear player control before considering it to be in player control. One defensive tap does not pass the test in my book.