RE: Changes coming to college hoops?

[Shinkle, Randy]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Zuke [mailto:address@hidden
> Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2003 9:08 AM
> To: address@hidden
> Subject: Re: [UC Basketball] Changes coming to college hoops?
>
>
> In article <address@hidden>,
> jon breiner <address@hidden> wrote:
> > I dunno, Zuke.  I have always thought the 3-point line was 
> way too close.  I
> > can make them for criminy sake!  I do not think the NBA line 
> of 23 some odd
> > feet is good, but the Internat'l line is perfect.  I like 
> the replay rule,
> > but I am not sure I want to see a 16 foot lane.  But if the 
> 3-point line
> > gets moved back, widening the lane would prevent the big 
> guys from camping
> > down low.
>
> Can you make them in the time span you get in an NCAA game 
> with a defender
> coming into your face?
>
> I saw an NCAA team, it might have been Troy State who I 
> thought employed a
> great strategy.  They set up a good two feet behind the 3 
> point line and
> threw it up from there.  I wonder how much your percentage 
> goes down if you
> just move a foot or so back.  Obviously you are going to get 
> much better
> looks.
>
> Anyway, a line change will drastically change the game and I 
> think the 
> only beneficiaries will be the teams with access to the better bigger
> athletes.  Look at the NBA, surprisingly a lot of the good three point
> guys are not little guys but big guys.
> -- 
> You are in control until you are out of control.


This is all rather simple to me:
  - Are there a lot of interior players in college that dominate by being able to post up so close that they score at will?  Perhaps I should ask instead, are there any?
  - Are there a lot of perimeter players in college that dominate by making a high percentage of 3's?  Perhaps I should ask instead, are there any?

Widening the lane may create more space for perimeter players to penetrate, but I think a more effective change would involve the charge/block calls, perhaps by adopting the "no charge" semicircle used in the NBA.  Also, if you widen the lane, you compress the area between the lane and the 3-point arc (further reducing the space needed for a "mid-range" game) unless you also move the arc back at the same time.  And IMO, moving the arc by anything less than the 4 feet to the NBA line would make little difference.

The objective of most rules changes in sports has been either to correct a perceived imbalance between offense and defense, brought on by the physical development of the players (e.g., raise/lower the pitcher's mound, move back the kickoff point, etc.), or to improve the "flow" of the game for the spectators (e.g., no free throws until a certain number of fouls, the shot/play clock, etc.).  Does such an imbalance or "flow" problem exist in college basketball?  If it does, I'm not seeing it, unless it's how "unintentional intentional" fouls slow down the end of a game.  The proposed rules changes do not address that at all.

Randy '78

P.S. -- Having said that, I do expect the changes to be made.