What's Wrong with this Ball..

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Splute

We are allowed to start a dribble by pushing, throwing or batting the ball to the floor. A dribble is ball movement caused by a player in control who bats ( intentionally strikes the ball with the hand(s)).... I do not see where the "stike" has to be with an open hand. Therefore I believe a player is allowed to use the bottom of a closed hand or even the back of the hand to dribble. I believe rule 9-4 relates to intentionally hitting the ball with the fist, as in a punch motion.

If there are other players around when A1 tries to reconstitute his dribble, I'd call it. The OP has him hitting it with his fist, intentionally. I'm not sure how you think this doesn't qualify. If fits, but is generally only applied when safety is an issue.