Back Court vs. Front Court.

[MagnusonX]

This in an age-old question for me. At what point is the ball considered in the front court? Here's a scenario:

Player A dribbles the ball from the back court towards the front court. At the halfway line, he has one foot in the back court and the other in the front court and has stopped. At this point, is the ball considered in the FC or the BC?

OK, let's complicate things further. With one foot in each the BC and the FC, he lifts his BC-side foot. Is he considered in the FC now?

Am I complicating this situation by talking about foot location? Is this supposed to be determined by the ball location instead? In this case, must the whole of the ball cross the halway to be in the front court?

[MagnusonX]

...for now on, I will search other threads before posting questions. 4-35 clearly explains this. Maybe I should just take the time and memorize each of the Rule 4 definitions. Gee, my fellow referees have only been telling me this for years.

[dsqrddgd909]

Originally Posted by MagnusonX

This in an age-old question for me. At what point is the ball considered in the front court? Here's a scenario:

Player A dribbles the ball from the back court towards the front court. At the halfway line, he has one foot in the back court and the other in the front court and has stopped. At this point, is the ball considered in the FC or the BC?

OK, let's complicate things further. With one foot in each the BC and the FC, he lifts his BC-side foot. Is he considered in the FC now?

Am I complicating this situation by talking about foot location? Is this supposed to be determined by the ball location instead? In this case, must the whole of the ball cross the halway to be in the front court?

all 3 points must have touched in FC to have FC status.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by MagnusonX

...for now on, I will search other threads before posting questions. 4-35 clearly explains this. Maybe I should just take the time and memorize each of the Rule 4 definitions. Gee, my fellow referees have only been telling me this for years.

Kudos to you for continuing your search and diving into the rule book to find the info for yourself. That's the best way to go!

[Scrapper1]

Magnuson, welcome to the Forum. Glad you found us here. There are a lot of pretty knowledgeable people here, so be sure to check in with questions throughout the season.

As to your particular question, it's answered very precisely in NFHS Rule 4-4. This defines "Ball Location". Essentially, the rule states that

1) if the ball is touching the floor in the backcourt, or a person who is touching the backcourt, then the ball is in the backcourt;

2) if the ball is touching the floor in the frontcourt or a person who is NOT touching the backcourt, then the ball is in the frontcourt;

3) if the ball is in flight, then its location is wherever it last touched the floor, backboard, basket, or a person.

Your "complicated" case is actually pretty straightforward. If you're dribbling, the ball is only in the frontcourt when the ball and both feet of the dribbler have touched in the frontcourt.

I see that you've sort of answered your own question, which is actually the best way to learn the rules. But I will agree with "everyone" who has told you to know Rule 4 inside and out. If you know how things are defined, it makes it much easier to break down a difficult question.

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by dsqrddgd909

all 3 points must have touched in FC to have FC status.

Just to be clear, this only applies to a dribbler; not to a person holding the ball.

[mbyron]

I usually answer this question in terms of the player rather than the ball. People seem to have trouble distinguishing 2 cases:

1. Dribbler: the ball and both feet must be in the FC; until then, the ball has BC status.

2. Non-dribbler with ball: something in the FC and nothing in the BC; until then, the ball has BC status.

The only other case is a ball in flight, which has the status of the last thing it touched.

[tref]

Originally Posted by mbyron

The only other case is a ball in flight, which has the status of the last thing it touched.

So, that being said... A1 in the f/c passes to A3 also in the f/c, B3 deflects the ball TOWARD the b/c. Before the ball touches the floor in the b/c A3 recovers in the b/c.
Ruling?

No I didnt start this 1 again!

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by tref

So, that being said... A1 in the f/c passes to A3 also in the f/c, B3 deflects the ball TOWARD the b/c. Before the ball touches the floor in the b/c A3 recovers in the b/c.
Ruling?

Backcourt violation on A3 according to the Fed.

Use the same scenario with the ball going OOB. If A3 is standing OOB and touches the ball befoe it hits OOB, A3 has committed the violation.

[tref]

Oh I concur with ya!
I just remember the board being split 50/50 on the this matter a while back.

[justacoach]

Originally Posted by tref

Oh I concur with ya!
I just remember the board being split 50/50 on the this matter a while back.

Can you link to that thread? I can't imagine it approached 98 vs 2, and that is even including the one-and-only Old School

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by justacoach

Can you link to that thread? I can't imagine it approached 98 vs 2, and that is even including the one-and-only Old School

2007-08 NFHS Supplemental Rules Interpreations: SITUATION 10.

By unilateral decree...

Situation 10 still bothers me.

Any thoughts on this play?

New interps Sitch # 10

How's that for a start?

[dsqrddgd909]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

Just to be clear, this only applies to a dribbler; not to a person holding the ball.

Scrapper, thanks for clarifying. All of my fc/bc questions from coaches involved dribblers so I assumed (my mistake).

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by tref

So, that being said... A1 in the f/c passes to A3 also in the f/c, B3 deflects the ball TOWARD the b/c. Before the ball touches the floor in the b/c A3 recovers in the b/c.
Ruling?

No I didnt start this 1 again!

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Use the same scenario with the ball going OOB. If A3 is standing OOB and touches the ball befoe it hits OOB, A3 has committed the violation.

It didn't always use to be that way on a throwin.