Backcourt Violation EARLY in the Game?

[just another ref]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Just Another Ref:

There is no problem with the wording. Read the entire first sentence of NFHS R9-S9-A3: "A player from the team not in control (defensive player or during a jump ball or throw-in) may legally jump from his/her frontcourt, secure control of the ball with both feet off the floor and return to the floor with one or both feet in the backcourt. The player may make a normal landing and it makes no difference whether the first foot down is in the frontcourt or backcourt."

The first sentence is the problem. Lumping defensive players and all players during the throw-in and jump ball into one little parenthetical phrase I think creates a distortion. No matter who touches the ball, the defensive player is free to land anywhere, but any slight contact with a player, which may not even affect the flight of the ball, ends the throw-in or jump ball, and, well, we know the rest.

I liked the rule better before it was changed, when the exceptions were listed separately, but both allowed a player who gains control for his team to land without penalty.