Timeout During a Held Ball
 

I'm a first year official, and I have gotten multiple answers to this question. Can one of the players call timeout during a held ball before I blow my whistle and signal jump ball? Thank you.

No. A player must be in possession for a TO to be granted legally. During a held ball, neither player has control.

Is there a rules reference for this? I could see an argument that if two players are grasping the ball, prior to the moment that you determine it is a held ball, that they both have control. Just sayin'...

If two players are grasping the ball, then it's a held ball. The fact that I may not have put air in my whistle quite yet doesn't change that. Yes, you could make the argument that they both have control before I blow my whistle, but it's still a held ball, even though I haven't blown it dead yet.

How can there be an argument when the definition of a held ball says that <b>neither</b> player is in control?:confused:

NFHS rule 4-25-1 says it's a held ball if <b>control</b> cannot be <b>obtained</b> without undue roughness.