Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 16, 1993 TAG: 9304160087
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
THE GAME AIN'T BROKE, BUT RULES COMMITTEE FIXED IT ANYWAY
College basketball just completed one of its most intriguing and competitive seasons. It took the rules committee less than 10 days to forget that.The men's game will look different next season. The 45-second shot clock lost 10 seconds. The five-second call on a closely guarded dribbler is history. So are dead-ball substitutions after field goals in the final minute - when the game clock will be stopped, like in the NBA, until the ball returns to play.
Yes, that means the offensive-defensive switching by coach Dean Smith in last week's NCAA championship finish by North Carolina will be diminished in the future.
Two things coaches don't like are surprise and less control. The changes made by the rules committee were both. Most coaches learned of the altered state of their game on Thursday morning, reading it like other fans.
There was no discussion of potential rule changes at the coaches' convention at the Final Four. And the National Association of Basketball Coaches wonders why it has problems lobbying and communicating with college administrators?
Before, even when the game ain't been broke, the rules makers fixed it.
What do these changes mean? A sampling of state Division I coaches brought mixed reaction, but one opinion voiced by Virginia Tech coach Bill Foster was unanimous.
"I've always thought that if it makes the game easier to officiate, it's a good change," Foster said. "If going from 45 to 35 [seconds] makes the game flow better and cleans it up, I'm for it, because the officials' job is nearly an impossible one."
The elimination of the five-second call against a closely guarded dribbler should be a plus. An official won't have to focus on two perimeter players and can help clean up play under the basket.
Defenses will not be able to overplay as easily, but that doesn't mean the number of teams using zone defenses will increase - because the 3-point arc, still at 19 feet 9 inches from the basket, isn't moving back. More teams will have to play better straight-up defense.
Since the 35-second shot clock brings more tempo to the game, teams likely won't use defensive gambling as much. Ball-handling and ball movement will be more crucial, and guard play will be more important, because not only will teams have to enter their offenses quicker, but the 3-point goal is still a quick-strike weapon.
That said, these rule changes help the rich get richer. What do fans love to see in the NCAA Tournament? Upsets. There are likely to be fewer of them, because many underdogs prospered - East Carolina in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament is a prime example - by shortening the game by running the shot clock.
With a 45-second clock, each game had a minimum of 54 possessions. With a 35-second clock, the possession minimum increases to 69. Realistically, because most teams do not use a full clock, each game will probably have at least 25-30 more possessions.
That means more points. It also translates into more opportunity for the team with the most talent to win. It could mean more fouls, which certainly wouldn't shorten the game - another intent of the committee.
In future years, the 3-point line is likely to move back and the foul lane is likely to widen, either to the fan shape of international hoops or the rectangle of the NBA. Whatever the rules, the point of emphasis - a phrase the rules committee uses ad nauseum - is that those rules must be enforced.
So, officials have been given less to call in 1993-94 and beyond. This season, the points of emphasis included penalties for taunting, hanging on the rim after a dunk, bench decorum and low-post play.
Those gulping sounds heard all winter were whistles being swallowed.
You won't hear many coaches yelling about the new rules now. They're waiting to see what's called next winter.