Washingtonian
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...b-11e4-a2a7-9517a3a70506_story.html?tid=sm_fb
By John Feinstein Columnist March 21
The madness has begun! March is madder than ever! What a day — five one-point games, a new record!
Those were just a few of the headlines — both written and spoken — from the first two days of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
John Feinstein is a sports columnist for The Washington Post and also provides commentary for the Golf Channel and National Public Radio.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/john-feinstein
There has never been more hype surrounding the tournament. The public-relations machines for the NCAA, Turner and CBS are hard at work, relentlessly telling us just how great their multibillion dollar event is and how much it means to all Americans.
It’s absolutely true that the drama of Thursday afternoon, when UAB and Georgia State pulled off stunning last-second upsets, was real. There were a slew of other close calls and buzzer-beaters across the 32 games on Thursday, Friday and early Saturday morning — the Dayton-Providence game ending well after midnight, thanks to the brilliant scheduling of the TV networks.
The NCAA men's basketball tournament has tipped off. Watch as late-night hosts David Letterman, John Oliver and Larry Wilmore take on brackets, sponsorships and the student-athlete controversy. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)
But those fabulous finishes are camouflaging a very real fact: College basketball is broken, especially the NCAA tournament version of the game.
It isn’t just about scoring being down — low scoring being an American obsession in every sport. It’s about games that have no rhythm, games that are officiated inconsistently at best, very badly at worst. It’s about the three-point line, and it’s about one-and-done. Add them all up, and you have a sport that is a shadow of its former self.
The game doesn’t need tweaks; it needs radical changes and it needs small, subtle changes. Let’s begin at the beginning:
● The three-point line. It needs to be moved back to the NBA distance. Everyone calls the three-point shot “the great equalizer,” but it cuts both ways. Everyone on the floor believes he can shoot it — and does. Teams shoot themselves out of games with three-pointers as often as they shoot themselves into them. Georgia was 3 of 17 from beyond the arc in its near-upset of Kentucky during the regular season. Imagine what might have been if the Bulldogs had actually tried to run offense to get better shots on those possessions.
Also, by moving the line back, you will create more space in the lane and force players to relearn what coaches call the “middle game.” The art of the shot-fake and pull-up jumper has virtually died. Players do one of two things: catch the ball at the three-point line and shoot or shot-fake and try to go all the way to the basket. If you’re going to shoot from 15 to 18 feet for two points, you might as well take a step back and shoot for three. Move the line back, and players and coaches will think differently. Open up the floor, and there will be fewer fouls.
● Length of games. There is absolutely no need for 18 stoppages in a game. That’s what we have now: four TV timeouts per half plus up 10 coaches’ timeouts per game. Coaches’ timeouts should be cut to three, with the caveat that if you haven’t used one going into the last two minutes, you lose it.
The rule that allows the first 30-second coaches’ timeout of the second half to be expanded into a television timeout has to go away. How many times do we see full timeouts on back-to-back whistles? The game comes to a grinding halt. It’s even worse during the tournament. when the first called 30-second timeout of each half becomes a full timeout, which is two-and-a-half endless minutes. The so-called 30-second timeout is now a 60-second timeout. The endgame never ends.
By John Feinstein Columnist March 21
The madness has begun! March is madder than ever! What a day — five one-point games, a new record!
Those were just a few of the headlines — both written and spoken — from the first two days of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
John Feinstein is a sports columnist for The Washington Post and also provides commentary for the Golf Channel and National Public Radio.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/john-feinstein
There has never been more hype surrounding the tournament. The public-relations machines for the NCAA, Turner and CBS are hard at work, relentlessly telling us just how great their multibillion dollar event is and how much it means to all Americans.
It’s absolutely true that the drama of Thursday afternoon, when UAB and Georgia State pulled off stunning last-second upsets, was real. There were a slew of other close calls and buzzer-beaters across the 32 games on Thursday, Friday and early Saturday morning — the Dayton-Providence game ending well after midnight, thanks to the brilliant scheduling of the TV networks.
The NCAA men's basketball tournament has tipped off. Watch as late-night hosts David Letterman, John Oliver and Larry Wilmore take on brackets, sponsorships and the student-athlete controversy. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)
But those fabulous finishes are camouflaging a very real fact: College basketball is broken, especially the NCAA tournament version of the game.
It isn’t just about scoring being down — low scoring being an American obsession in every sport. It’s about games that have no rhythm, games that are officiated inconsistently at best, very badly at worst. It’s about the three-point line, and it’s about one-and-done. Add them all up, and you have a sport that is a shadow of its former self.
The game doesn’t need tweaks; it needs radical changes and it needs small, subtle changes. Let’s begin at the beginning:
● The three-point line. It needs to be moved back to the NBA distance. Everyone calls the three-point shot “the great equalizer,” but it cuts both ways. Everyone on the floor believes he can shoot it — and does. Teams shoot themselves out of games with three-pointers as often as they shoot themselves into them. Georgia was 3 of 17 from beyond the arc in its near-upset of Kentucky during the regular season. Imagine what might have been if the Bulldogs had actually tried to run offense to get better shots on those possessions.
Also, by moving the line back, you will create more space in the lane and force players to relearn what coaches call the “middle game.” The art of the shot-fake and pull-up jumper has virtually died. Players do one of two things: catch the ball at the three-point line and shoot or shot-fake and try to go all the way to the basket. If you’re going to shoot from 15 to 18 feet for two points, you might as well take a step back and shoot for three. Move the line back, and players and coaches will think differently. Open up the floor, and there will be fewer fouls.
● Length of games. There is absolutely no need for 18 stoppages in a game. That’s what we have now: four TV timeouts per half plus up 10 coaches’ timeouts per game. Coaches’ timeouts should be cut to three, with the caveat that if you haven’t used one going into the last two minutes, you lose it.
The rule that allows the first 30-second coaches’ timeout of the second half to be expanded into a television timeout has to go away. How many times do we see full timeouts on back-to-back whistles? The game comes to a grinding halt. It’s even worse during the tournament. when the first called 30-second timeout of each half becomes a full timeout, which is two-and-a-half endless minutes. The so-called 30-second timeout is now a 60-second timeout. The endgame never ends.
