When do we not reverse the AP arrow?

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by La Rikardo

The most obvious situation is when a foul occurs during the throw-in. Certainly a smart coach could leverage this to his advantage. A held ball occurs with 0.9 seconds left in a period. Team A, entitled to the ensuing AP throw-in, commits a TC foul during the throw-in. Arrow stays with A, and they get the AP throw-in to start the next period, which will certainly be more valuable than the AP throw-in with fractions of a second left.

If a coach wants to waste a foul in order to gain a possession at the start of the next quarter, that's their prerogative. Depending upon where that foul takes place there's also the possibility that coach's team could give up a basket with 0.9 remaining.

Originally Posted by La Rikardo

Another situation would be a violation by B during the throw-in. Something straight-forward like swinging elbows by B during the throw-in isn't hard to figure out. But what about a boundary-plane violation and subsequent warning for delay? Certainly this would terminate (but not end) the AP throw-in and award a new designated-spot throw-in to A, leaving the arrow with A.

An AP - or any other throw-in - ends, in part, when the throw-in team violates. As you said, if B violates the AP throw-in isn't over. In this instance the replacement throw-in takes place immediately.

Originally Posted by La Rikardo

What if B kicks the passed ball before the AP throw-in has previously ended? This one is confusing to me. The throw-in ends when the passed ball touches or is legally touched by another player inbounds. Why are "touches" and "legally touched by" both listed? My only thought is that there is supposed to be a distinction between the ball touching a player and a player touching the ball. In the case of B kicking the passed ball, the ball is touched by another player inbounds, but the touching was not legal. Did the AP throw-in end? Strictly speaking, the passed ball touched a player inbounds so you could certainly say that it has, but that would make "legally touched by" redundant. I think the intent here is that A keep the arrow and get a new designated-spot throw-in.

You need "touched" and "legally touched" because it effects the requirements placed on the team making the throw-in. Part of NFHS 7-6-2 reads: "The throw-in pass shall touch another player (inbounds or out of bounds) on the court before going out of bounds untouched." If the throw-in touches another player then Team A has met that requirement. However if the ball isn't touched legally (e.g., someone kicks or punches it), the throw-in isn't over.