Jump or Step

[All_Heart]

Originally Posted by SamIAm

A1 picks up his dribble, then pivots, then steps/jumps from pivot foot to non-pivot foot while retaining possession of the ball. If it is a step, it is legal. If it is a jump, it is illegal. Jumping while holding the ball and returning to the floor, when not part of a jumpstop and with no intervening action, is a violation isn't it?

What you have described is LEGAL. The player did not put his/her pivot foot back on the ground after lifting it. It doesn't matter if they jump or step. In fact what you described would be what an athletic player usually does on a layup.

[tjchamp]

Look at 4.44.3.a. - The pivot foot may be lifted, but not returned to the floor, before the ball is released on a pass or try for goal. Until the players pivot returns to the floor you got nothing.

[Camron Rust]

It is sad that no one is giving you an answer to your actual question.

You are correct that the movement must be judged to either be a step or a jump....that the result is either legal or a violation depending on that judgement. There is no explicit rule or even guideline that has ever been published that defines either.

My rule of thumb is to judge the primary direction of the movement....up = jump, lateral = step.

[SamIAm]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

It is sad that no one is giving you an answer to your actual question.

You are correct that the movement must be judged to either be a step or a jump....that the result is either legal or a violation depending on that judgement. There is no explicit rule or even guideline that has ever been published that defines either.

My rule of thumb is to judge the primary direction of the movement....up = jump, lateral = step.

An oasis in the desert. Thanks Cam, that is how I see it. If it looks like a jump, it was a jump, otherwise it is a step.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by All_Heart

What you have described is LEGAL. The player did not put his/her pivot foot back on the ground after lifting it. It doesn't matter if they jump or step. In fact what you described would be what an athletic player usually does on a layup.

The problem with that is that after a jump NEITHER foot can return to the floor before passing/shooting.

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by All_Heart

It doesn't matter if they jump or step. In fact what you described would be what an athletic player usually does on a layup.

Case in point: Lebron James Frequently on his drives he broad jumps from one foot to the other. Of course, in his case, this sometimes comes after he has already taken a step or two. Yet another move that young kids try to duplicate which is not legal in their games.

NBA Action!! A nightmare for NFHS officials.

Rule of thumb in layman's terms: Jump, step, whatever you wish to call it; if everything leaves the floor at once, nothing may return to the floor while holding the ball.