Traveling Help!?
 

Okay so Traveling is my biggest weakness as an official. I do not have a problem with seeing the pivot foot. But I have a problem in knowing what they can do. I have read the rule book over and over and have watched videos but I just cant seem to grasp it.

Let me see if I can post what I know:

1 - Beginning a dribble the pivot foot has to be on the floor when ball is released?
2- The pivot foot may be lifted but not returned to the floor?
3 - Dribbling, player jumps off of pivot foot and lands on 2 feet, neither can be pivot?

Any I'm missing??

Thanks

1. Correct. The ball must be released before the pivot foot is lifted.
2. If the pivot foot is lifted, the player must be shoot or pass the ball before the pivot foot is returned to the floor. (Could also request a timeout)
3. If a player gathers the ball with a foot on the ground, they may jump off that foot and must land simultaneously on both feet. They may not pivot after this.

2. If the pivot foot is lifted while the player is holding the ball. Remember, player can do whatever he jolly well pleases with his feet while he's dribbling. I know there's no pivot foot when he's dribbling, but when a person is confused, it's important to keep all the details in mind.

So if a player gathers the ball with the left foot as the pivot and jumps off the left they cannot land Right then Left? Because the left cannot come down until the ball it released??

What if the left is the pivot and they jump off of the right, is that legal? What can happen after?

Correct.

Yes, legal. Must pass, shoot, or call timeout before returning to the ground.

This is how most left handed layups are done. ;)

True haha. Never thought of it in that way.

Why is it not traveling when a player has the Left foot as the pivot and they jump off of that foot onto 2 feet? Didn't the Left foot come down again?

Technically there is no pivot foot in this situation (see 4.44.2). Although it might seem counterintuitive, this is specifically allowed by rule. Note this only applies while dribbling or moving, you can't stop, establish a pivot foot and then try to make this move.

Okay so catching the ball or dribbling is okay. But if I stop a dribble then try or receive a pass its traveling?

It basically applies to a moving player gathering or receiving the ball, allowing him/her to jump off one foot and land on both simultaneously.

The way I interpret it is that it is all one continuous action, so if the gathering or receiving is one action, and then the jump stop is another, I view it as illegal. Judgement call, though I err on the side of legal if there is doubt.

I'm saying if you stopped a dribble, established a pivot foot, you could not jump off of that pivot foot and land on two feet, that would be travelling. In the case of a jump stop since the player is moving, the foot that they jump off of is not considered to be the pivot foot - there is no pivot foot in that case.

The way I interpret is it gives a moving player an opportunity to come to a stop without requiring that it be "immediate". Imagine how hard it would be if you considered that the foot touching the ground on the catch/gather was the pivot and a player could not lift and return that foot to the ground - in certain situations that move is near impossible, thus the allowance for the jump stop.

I disagree. If a player has a foot in the air, I consider them to be moving. Standing on one foot is not a steady-state situation. They may be moving slowly, but they're still moving.

I agree - 4-44-2 does not reference any amount of time limit for the player to be allowed to jump off of that foot and land on both feet. As long as they are moving when they catch/gather the ball and land on one foot, I think you are covered by rule. Although it would not look good..

This is a valid point, and if you judge the player is still moving then it's all part of that action.

Honestly, I don't think I've ever called a violation for what I described as two separate actions, but I think I would if I judged a player had stopped on one foot, then jumped off it onto two. Would be a pretty awkward, unusual, and strange play.

Agreed. Movement is not the key. The key is when the second foot touches the floor. Until it does, there is no pivot foot.

So they can go left, right, left? Since their is no pivot foot in that case?

Nope. In that case the left foot is determined to be the pivot foot as soon as the right foot hit the ground. Therefore, when the left foot hits the ground again it is traveling.

If the ball is gathered or caught with one foot on the ground, that foot is always the pivot foot EXCEPT for the one clearly defined exception which is the jump stop, in which case there isn't a pivot foot.

Exactly..this is all laid out in 4-44, you just have to spend some time with it visualizing each different type of play.

Your right. I have a game tonight and that is all I've been doing today is acting out situations

It should also be noted that this whole lands-on-two-feet-no-pivot-foot scenario is only the case if the player still has a foot on the ground when the final dribble returns to his/her hands. If they're already airborne when the dribble is terminated, they can land on either foot first, with that foot being the pivot, or if both feet land at the same time, either may be the pivot. The latter scenario is often followed by the player stepping across with one foot and jumping of the non-pivot foot for a shot.

The most common scenario is an airborne player gathering a dribble (or catching a pass) and jumping off the first foot that hits the floor, landing on both simultaneously.

I've come to a different conclusion than my earlier posts based on the discussion here and re-reading 4-44-2...I'm now in complete agreement with Camron and others. I was focused on the 'moving' comment. However, no pivot foot is established until the second foot touches and therefore, regardless of how long a player who has caught the ball is on one foot he may still jump off that foot and land on both simultaneously.

Thanks for the thought-provoking discussion. I love learning new things here.

New scenario getting a lot of debate among some of my friends:

A1 receives the ball near the block, dribbles once, and establishes his left foot as the pivot foot. In making a move to score, A1 takes a large jump off of the left foot into the lane, landing on his right foot then jumping again off it and scoring before the either foot touches the ground.

Legal?

What rule would make this illegal?

Well, this is the source of the debate:

4-44-3...After coming to a stop and establishing a pivot foot:
(a) The pivot foot may be lifted, but not returned to the floor, before the ball is released...
(b) If the player jumps neither foot may be returned to the floor before the ball is released....

Those arguing legal cite a., those arguing illegal cite b. No definition of "jumps" exists in the book. Some say that the move must be a 'step' where the right foot touches before the left leaves the court. Others argue that once both feet are off the ground it is a jump.

Of course, that says that what most of us view as a legal layup would be traveling as when running both feet are off the court at the same time. I can also see the argument in an exaggerated move that most of us would truly look at like a jump rather than a step-through or running move, that those arguing (b) have merit.

Right, I figured that was the debate. It's a judgment call, IMO, whether he "jumps" or "steps."

I like this explanation - if this doesn't happen it is at least a hop which to me is closer to a jump than it is to a step. Plus this move is uglier than all get out. Travel:D

Have you ever seen a player run and not be momentarily airborne between steps? This explanation doesn't work, IMO.

That's actually pretty rare for my usual level of officiating (high school aged rec league), so I assumed it's also pretty rare at the higher levels without thinking. I've had a lot of players complain that I don't call a travel whenever someone fails to land with both feet simultaneously on a jump stop. It's even been worse than "3 IN THE KEY!!!" this season.

In fact, the common definitions of running require that both feet be off the ground at the same time...otherwise it is not running...

From a Wickipedia article:

In humans and other bipeds, walking is generally distinguished from running in that only one foot at a time leaves contact with the ground and there is a period of double-support. In contrast, running begins when both feet are off the ground with each step. (This distinction has the status of a formal requirement in competitive walking events, resulting in disqualification at the Olympic level.)

So, the rule about not returning the floor after "jumping" can't simply depend on both feet being off the floor at the same time. Otherwise, the layup would be illegal.