Time out
 

White team has the ball trapped in the backcourt, Coach requests timeout as player makes long pass to front court. Official blows whistle and grants timeout. Long pass is stolen by Red player. Red team extremely upset. What is official to do correctly in this situation.

If the official granted the timeout as the player had possession than they grant the timeout. That is on the judgement of the calling official. Just because the whistle might have been while the ball in the air changes nothing.

Now even if the whistle came after pass was given, by rule you still are supposed to grant the timeout. It would be unfortunate, but that is the rule. Or you could do the common sense thing and have an inadvertent whistle and either give it to the defensive team or go to the AP arrow. Not saying that is the thing to do, but people suggest that option often.

Peace

So is there team control during the flight of the pass? does this give the coach a chance to request a time out?

You must have player control to call a timeout. And the whistle does not make the play dead, the play is already dead by the recognition of the timeout being requested by the coach if the player had control at the same time. This is the reason they need to get rid of this rule because all it does is make officials have to pay attention to someone that can request a timeout and have to figure out if the HC made the request as opposed to someone else.

Peace

Yes, there is team control during a pass. However, the rules require player control, the ball at a team's disposal, or a dead ball for a timeout request to be properly granted.
So if the official incorrectly granted a timeout while the ball was in flight during a pass, the rule is that the team in control receives a throw-in from the OOB spot nearest to the location of the ball. In this case that is where it was last in contact with a player on the court, so from where the pass was thrown.

Pay no attention to the above post by Rut that is wrong by rule!

When was the timeout requested and heard by the official? The timing of the whistle isn't the important piece of the puzzle and could come a bit later.

This is a gray area which needs an editorial adjustment. Nothing in the timeout process is on the list of things which cause the ball to become dead except the whistle.

There's the letter of the rules and there's the spirit of the rules that good officials understand and follow.

And that is why a lot of people do the consider this an inadvertant whislte and no one cares except for those that have little common sense. The NCAA rule is different for this reason.

Peace

True, but that's a different argument.

Under timeout rule whatever number, it says timeout occurs when the official grants and signals. The common application is when the timeout is recognized, as opposed to when the whistle blows. But there's more. It would help to have some more specifics mentioned. 6-7 dead ball does not mention timeouts. This almost came into play in my game last week. What if an official improperly grants a timeout while the ball is in flight? Does it kill the play? I would say not, but there are things a lot more obscure than this which are spelled out for us in the rules.

It is a basketball fundamental in the rulebook.

Peace

What is?

I cannot find the exact number, but where it says something like, "The whistle rarely makes the ball dead, it is already dead."

I do not have my rulebook in front of me and it appears to not be listed on the Rulebook App, but this kind of is covered under that list.

Peace

#16 I got that. But in the case of the timeout, it is not specified what makes the ball dead.

A simple addition to 6-7:

The ball becomes dead when a coach or player properly requests a timeout.

I do not think you need that much specifics. It is clear to me when a coach makes the request and you grant it the play is dead. The problem is it takes time to get a lot of requests understood.

Peace