Basketball Traveling Rules/Picking up your dribble

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by potato

you guys are like lawyers working on each and every single word and different people having different interpretations on the sentences i'm guessing the only clear cut way to ask a question is probably coming up with a video which i failed to google one.

Well it matters what the language says in this very specific area for one. You cannot talk about steps when steps is no where in the rule or explanation of what is a violation or allowed by a player. The rule is rather simple for the most part but people like you make it more complicated by taking myths and trying to apply to what is legal or not. Even if you had video there is going to be some dispute on some plays as to when a player has established a pivot foot by stopping their dribble or when they catch the ball. Just do some research and you will see many of us debating this on a video.

The problem is you could understand by just reading the actual rule, instead of trying to find some vast paper to understand the rule. Actually it seems like you are confusing yourself more than anything.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

Stop with the "steps" thinking. It's not part of the rule. A player is either holding the ball or dribbling the ball. If he's dribbling, then there are no restrictions on the movement of the feet. If he's holding the ball, then the pivot foot movement is restricted. Deciding when a player goes from dribbling to holding is judgment, and the judgment is not based on the number of steps.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

You cannot talk about steps when steps is no where in the rule or explanation of what is a violation or allowed by a player.

Listen to bob, and to JRutledge. It's not about counting steps. It's never about counting steps. Never has been about counting steps. Never will be about counting steps. It's about the pivot foot, and only about the pivot foot. Period. Stop talking about counting steps.

To put it another way, in regard to traveling, never use the word, "step(s)", as a noun, i.e., "The player takes two steps", rather, only use the word, "step(s)", as a verb, i.e., "The player's right foot is his pivot foot, and he steps with his left foot".

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

The rule is rather simple for the most part ...

Here are the simple parts: Once a player stops dribbling and holds the ball, he establishes a pivot foot. On a pass, or a shot, the pivot foot may be lifted, but may not return to the floor before the ball is released. Any other foot movement other than these two situations represent a traveling violation. That's "Traveling 101".

There is a complicated part to the rule: Jump stops to set the pivot foot. Players sometimes jump off of two feet, sometimes off of one foot, sometimes land on two feet, sometimes land on one foot, and jump off that foot to the other foot. Sometimes players can use either foot as the pivot foot, sometimes players can use neither foot as a pivot foot. That "Traveling 401", a graduate level course.

Note that I don't go into jump stops in my Mythbusters list. I did it on purpose, the list is designed to educate players ,coaches, and fans, not officials, with the possible exception of spanking brand new rookie officials.

[Adam]

More circles.