CaribouJim
05-03-2013, 03:40 PM
http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/BF/20130502/SPORTS/305020028/Shortening-college-shot-clock-would-short-sighted
...many of the same points raised by guys here. I do like his time-out suggestion, but could do without the MU mention - ouch!!
Written by Mike Lopresti
USA Today
Discussions are expected next week among the men’s college basketball rules committee on whether to shorten the shot clock.
How many times can I say no in 35 seconds?
The idea seems sound, at first, with widespread alarm about ugly games and inactive scoreboards. To anyone who denies the problem, there is only one thing to say.
Syracuse 55, Marquette 39, East Regional final.
The scoring per team the past season, 67.50, was the lowest since 1952. Weren’t they still using peach baskets back then?
So we shorten the clock from 35 to 30 seconds. Or maybe even 24 seconds, to match the NBA, and hope the players suddenly turn into LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul.
Sounds logical. But it’s the wrong solution.
The issue is not too few shots being taken, but too many lousy shots being missed. Only the Great Wall has more bricks than college basketball. The average shooting percentage this season was 43.30 percent, the lowest in 48 years.
A shorter shot clock might only make matters worse. Can’t find a decent look against the Louisville pressure or the Georgetown man-to-man or the Syracuse zone in 35 seconds? Try it in 24, when the defenses don’t have to work so long.
The shorter-clock-guarantees-higher-scores theory is a fallacy. The last season with the 45-second clock in college basketball was 1993. The combined points per NCAA tournament game that year was 148.6. For this past tournament, with the 35-second clock, the average was 131.5.
What to fix, then? Do something about the physical onslaught going on out there. The contact allowed on defense that would make Nick Saban proud. The NCAA has been keeping foul statistics since 1948. There have never been fewer called than this season’s 17.68 per team per game. And it’s not like they’ve all suddenly turned into ballroom dancers.
“I think it’s a big problem,” Rick Pitino said. “I’ve had so compliments on the way the Louisville-Michigan game (won 82-76 by his Cardinals for the national title) was both officiated and played. They think that’s the way the game should be played, and I agree with them.
“But if you’ve spent eight years in the Big East like I have, you say that’s not the norm. The norm is 27-25 at halftime.”
Pitino remembered a confab years ago of NBA general managers and coaches, with the league disturbed about dropping scores.
“David Stern said: ‘We’ve got to change, or it’s going to be the ruination of our game,’” Pitino said. “We came up with all these ideas, but what ultimately changed the game was the way the game was officiated. More fouls were called.”
Pitino said he dropped by an NBA game last spring, and “I was blown away by how much the pro game had changed compared to the college game. Players were able to dribble penetrate without being mugged.”
So while Pitino is not against shortening the shot clock, he sees another answer.
“There may be improvement, but I can tell you right now the reason scoring is down is because of the way the game is officiated. We’ve got to totally change and allow for freedom of movement, allow the screeners to go set the screen, allow the pick-and-rolls to occur. You can’t be pushing people in the back on every play.”
Here, here. If the shooting percentages get much lower, they’ll look like the Miami Marlins’ batting averages.
If everyone is in the mood to change a rule to improve the flow of the game, how about this: fewer team timeouts. They’re not needed when every game comes with eight media timeouts.
Coaches stockpile their own for the end, and you know what that means. The final two minutes of even the most riveting game turn into a dripping faucet. Change of possession, timeout. Free throw, timeout. Rebound, timeout. And ... the ... night ... drags ... on.
Don’t use 15 minutes to play the last 90 seconds. Clean up the defense. Then see if the shot clock needs work.
Right now, the 35-second clock doesn’t slow down the game. Everything else does.
...many of the same points raised by guys here. I do like his time-out suggestion, but could do without the MU mention - ouch!!
Written by Mike Lopresti
USA Today
Discussions are expected next week among the men’s college basketball rules committee on whether to shorten the shot clock.
How many times can I say no in 35 seconds?
The idea seems sound, at first, with widespread alarm about ugly games and inactive scoreboards. To anyone who denies the problem, there is only one thing to say.
Syracuse 55, Marquette 39, East Regional final.
The scoring per team the past season, 67.50, was the lowest since 1952. Weren’t they still using peach baskets back then?
So we shorten the clock from 35 to 30 seconds. Or maybe even 24 seconds, to match the NBA, and hope the players suddenly turn into LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul.
Sounds logical. But it’s the wrong solution.
The issue is not too few shots being taken, but too many lousy shots being missed. Only the Great Wall has more bricks than college basketball. The average shooting percentage this season was 43.30 percent, the lowest in 48 years.
A shorter shot clock might only make matters worse. Can’t find a decent look against the Louisville pressure or the Georgetown man-to-man or the Syracuse zone in 35 seconds? Try it in 24, when the defenses don’t have to work so long.
The shorter-clock-guarantees-higher-scores theory is a fallacy. The last season with the 45-second clock in college basketball was 1993. The combined points per NCAA tournament game that year was 148.6. For this past tournament, with the 35-second clock, the average was 131.5.
What to fix, then? Do something about the physical onslaught going on out there. The contact allowed on defense that would make Nick Saban proud. The NCAA has been keeping foul statistics since 1948. There have never been fewer called than this season’s 17.68 per team per game. And it’s not like they’ve all suddenly turned into ballroom dancers.
“I think it’s a big problem,” Rick Pitino said. “I’ve had so compliments on the way the Louisville-Michigan game (won 82-76 by his Cardinals for the national title) was both officiated and played. They think that’s the way the game should be played, and I agree with them.
“But if you’ve spent eight years in the Big East like I have, you say that’s not the norm. The norm is 27-25 at halftime.”
Pitino remembered a confab years ago of NBA general managers and coaches, with the league disturbed about dropping scores.
“David Stern said: ‘We’ve got to change, or it’s going to be the ruination of our game,’” Pitino said. “We came up with all these ideas, but what ultimately changed the game was the way the game was officiated. More fouls were called.”
Pitino said he dropped by an NBA game last spring, and “I was blown away by how much the pro game had changed compared to the college game. Players were able to dribble penetrate without being mugged.”
So while Pitino is not against shortening the shot clock, he sees another answer.
“There may be improvement, but I can tell you right now the reason scoring is down is because of the way the game is officiated. We’ve got to totally change and allow for freedom of movement, allow the screeners to go set the screen, allow the pick-and-rolls to occur. You can’t be pushing people in the back on every play.”
Here, here. If the shooting percentages get much lower, they’ll look like the Miami Marlins’ batting averages.
If everyone is in the mood to change a rule to improve the flow of the game, how about this: fewer team timeouts. They’re not needed when every game comes with eight media timeouts.
Coaches stockpile their own for the end, and you know what that means. The final two minutes of even the most riveting game turn into a dripping faucet. Change of possession, timeout. Free throw, timeout. Rebound, timeout. And ... the ... night ... drags ... on.
Don’t use 15 minutes to play the last 90 seconds. Clean up the defense. Then see if the shot clock needs work.
Right now, the 35-second clock doesn’t slow down the game. Everything else does.