saving the ball by throwing it at the ref

[Indianaref]

Originally Posted by mutantducky

While watching the NIT game today a player dived on the floor but went out. I thought, hey he could have saved it but what if he threw it against the ref who was standing there? If he did it on accident and the ball stays live then yes play on. But what if it were on purpose? Is using the ref to keep the ball inbounds an automatic violation or even a Tech?

The ball hitting an official is the same as hitting the floor. If the official is standing inbounds, I would consider this the start of a dribble. If the official is standing out of bounds, it would be an out of bounds violation. I don't see why this would be considered a tech at all unless he fired it at the official with malicious intent to do harm.