Non-FT violation during FT

[La Rikardo]

A1 is fouled in the act of shooting an unsuccessful two-point try and is awarded two free throws. During the first free throw,

(a) A2, who is not in a marked lane position, leaves the court for an unauthorized reason.
(b) B1, who is not in a marked lane position, leaves the court for an unauthorized reason.

Not that I'm expecting this to be called in one of my games soon, but I don't think I'd know how to handle it. For (a), I would think, the ball is dead immediately, A1 will shoot two free throws with the lanes cleared and B will have a throw-in at the OOB spot nearest to A2's violation. That makes sense in my head, but you can't really have a violation as part of a FDF situation and there's not a whole lot in the rules to back this, so I'm pretty sure my thought here is wrong.

For (b), I think the violation has to be ignored because of 6-7-9 Exception D.

Am I missing something here?

[Camron Rust]

Almost right.

In (a), the ball becomes dead immediately when the violation occurs. What happens next depends on the status of the ball at the time of the violation. If it had not been released, you'd continue by shooting 2 FTs for A, with the lane cleared, awarding the ball to B for the violation after the last FT. However, if the ball had been released, A1's first shot will have been completed. It can't score since it is a dead ball and but isn't replaced.

Regarding (b)...

I can't find it in the casebook but there was once an interpretation/case/situation published that indicated that (IIRC) a defensive violation for leaving the court when an obvious scoring opportunity was in progress is to be delayed (not ignored) until after the shot since calling it would be an unfair advantage for the defender. But it was to be penalized after the shot....same thing with a technical foul called on the defensive team in such a situation.

So, IIRC, in (b), the violation doesn't make the ball become dead when the ball is in flight but it is still a violation. Shot counts if it goes and A completes the FTs with no one along the lane. A's ball for the violation after the FTs. One thing isn't clear in the rule is whether the ball becomes dead immediately if it is before the release but after A is in the shooting motion. The other parts of the 6-7-9 Exception specifically mention that they apply when the try is in flight.

Either way, A's getting the ball after the FTs are complete.

[Rob1968]

So, has this, or is this likely to ever occur?

Certainly, if the player approaches his/her bench to take a drink, or to use a towel, and steps off the playing surface, it's a non-issue.
And if the official sees a player leave the gym, without being subbed, the next thing to do is to approach the coach - maybe the player is ill, or about to vomit, etc.
There are so many circumstances during a game in which the penalty is available, but we explore the specifics of the situation first.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Rob1968

So, has this, or is this likely to ever occur?

Probably not, but it is a good exercise in knowing when the ball becomes dead...which becomes useful at more typical times.