Team A has posession in their frontcourt, as A1 is attempting a pass to A2, his pass is deflected by B1 off A2 leg and it goes into Team A backcourt. A2 then is the first to touch the ball in its backcourt. Is this a backcourt violation by Team A?

Semper Fi

Yes, this is a backcourt violation. The fact that B1 touched the ball has no bearing on the play, because A2 was the last to touch/be touched by the ball before it went into the backcourt. Here are the four qualifications for a backcourt call:

(1) A must have team control of the ball.
(2) The ball must have frontcourt status.
(3) A must be the last to touch the ball before it goes into the backcourt.
(4) A must be the first to touch the ball after it has been in the backcourt.

All four requirements are met in your case, therefore it is a BC violation.

Mark - great job - I seem to remember just having this one a month or so back and you were struggling with the concept. I love the 4 criteria as explained in multiple threads - it makes almost all backcourt calls a lot easier (til you get to those inbound situations!).

Yes, I did struggle with it. Then I realized that not all of the rules are there for the sake of fairness.

This exact play came up Friday night when I was on the clock. Covering official missed it (he gave the "ball was tipped" signal), I just kinda shook my head and went on with the game. :)

Yes, speaking of those inbound situations. I knew exactly the rules til today, I called something and went looking in the book and am lost.

Situation: A has a throw-in in their frontcourt, say near the free-throw line extended. What is the rule for throwing it into the backcourt from there? Rules, cases, please, and while you're at it, explain 9-9-2 and exceptions and note.

The ball can be thrown into the BC on any throw-in. Where the ball is inbounded doesn't have anything to do with it. You won't find anything in the RB on it because it's not illegal.

9-9-2 refers to a sitaution where A1 passes the ball from the BC into the FC, where it hits an official or the floor and then rebounds back into the BC were A1 touches it.

Exception 1 is simply saying that during a jump ball or throw-in, even though a player has FC status and establishes team control while in the air, he can legally land in his own BC.

As for Exception 2, if a defense player jumps from his FC, and intercepts a pass while in flight, he can legally land in his own BC.

The Note means simply what it says. It makes no difference which foot hits the floor first in Exceptions 1 and 2. The play is legal.

Are you sure you're the same guy that sent me the NF Part II exam for scoring and made 97 on it? :D

Coach,
The inbound situations should still be easy to understand.
There is no Team Control during a Throw in.

The same goes for a missed field goal that bounces into BC.
Team Control was lost on the shot, therefore that Team can be the first to touch the ball in the BC.

I'm sure you already knew this Coach, just reviewing things a bit. :)

Oh yeah, I can't wait to have a throw in situation at the division line when A1 throws the ball to A2 in his FC, A2 then muffs the ball to his BC and goes to retrieve the ball. A2 is then the first to touch the ball in the BC.
Legal Play. No team control on a throw in...a muff is not control.

The "howls" will ring united.:)

Dan

Now, that's not nice! So I had a braincramp, it happens. You should have seen it when I called it, ugly. Whistle, pause, help from coach "yea,backcourt", backcourt signal, change mind no, it's not, change mind again "yes, it is". I stuck with the call and was right next to coach I called it on, I turned to him and confidently lied "the exception to the backcourt rule on a throw-in only applies to the first player to gain possession". He was speechless, gave me this look like "whatever, I think your f***ng nuts, but what the heck ever". Anyway, Tony, never said I was perfect, that's why I missed 3 questions on purpose so you wouldn't expect me to be flawless.

Dan
Yes, the basic inbounds situations are generally clear enough because of the concept of team control. But there are those little sticky not so clear ones that just have their specific interpretations that are not readily discernible from the basic four points. You gotta know the specific rule for these situations, because the basic BC violation provisions won't get you there.

1. A1 inbounds to A2 who is FC, ball is thrown toward BC, A2 jumps from FC catches in air, and lands BC.

2. A1 inbounds to A2, A2 catches with one foot foot in FC, other foot in air, second foot then touches BC.

These are the situations to which I was refering :)

I hoped the review helped out, Devon. Sometimes a play just looks funny but you already knew that. Hey, you made better on that @#&* test than I did! :)

Coach, I'm sure you know this but I'll review. #1 is not a BC violation but #2 is. The exception does not apply to #2 because the player is not in the air. That's the most important thing to remember for both exceptions. They only apply to a player who has both feet off the floor when he catches the ball.