High Dribble

Question
I was playing a pick up game when a player was driving towards the basket.  He bounced the ball hard on the floor and lost his footing.  The ball went above his head and he ran 4 or 5 small steps and caught it.  Is this a violation?  

Answer
Hi Scott,

This sounds like a situation where it's tough for me to answer it, and it's one of those plays where I'd have to see it. But I will tell you this. There is no rule that states the ball cannot be bounced higher than a certain distance. So just on that merit alone, it was a legal play.  It sounds like he "lost the handle" on the ball, which means he lost control of it, took a few steps then re-gained control. If that is the case, then no violation took place. I'm trying to visualize what happened, and I would be inclined to say what he did was legal.