College basketball might look even more like the NBA in the future -- just not the immediate future.
This week, the power brokers of the college game discussed the implementation of an NBA 3-point line, quarters instead of halves and a wider lane, but decided against making any significant changes.
The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee, which met in Indianapolis for its annual meeting, will not make major recommendations to the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel. But its conversations included plans to work with the NBA on possible adjustments that would alter college basketball.
"We looked at all those things," Keith Dambrot, Duquesne coach and chairman of the rules committee, said during a Friday conference call. "We feel like we need to gather more data before we make a drastic move like that."
Moving the 3-point line from 20 feet, 9 inches to either 22 feet, 2 inches (FIBA) or 23 feet, 9 inches (NBA), widening the lane to 16 feet from 12 feet and adopting quarters, which the NIT employed a modified version of as an experiment last season, were all discussed. Committee members said they intend to work with the NBA to consider adjustments in the future.
Individual conferences and the NIT may choose to experiment with the prospective measures next season, Dambrot said. He cautioned, however, that college basketball's leaders do not want a game "completely mirrored after the NBA."
Art Hyland, the secretary/rules editor for the committee, said the group will analyze studies the NBA has conducted about the potential impact of adjustments, such as moving the 3-point line.
"They've offered to share with us their studies of what they've done by rule, and we look forward to working with them on that," Hyland said.
The committee also promoted the impact recent rule changes have had on college basketball, such as the 30-second shot clock in 2015-16, to make the game faster and more efficient.
Teams shot 44.4 percent from the field this season, the top mark since 1994-95, according to the NCAA. Scoring (73.4 PPG last season) and possessions (70.3 compared to 65.8 before the shot-clock change) also rose.
The rule changes for next season recommended by the committee -- expanding the coach's box to 38 feet, resetting the shot clock to 20 seconds instead of 30 after a foul or defensive violation and allowing instant replay in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime to certify block-charge calls -- will have a lesser impact in 2017-18, when compared to the sweeping shifts of recent years.
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel will vote on all changes next month.
The committee also proposed making throw-in spots in the frontcourt more consistent, a mandatory minimum of 0.3 seconds be taken off the clock when the ball is legally touched and redefining a legal screen.
An experimental SEC instant replay adjustment -- using a replay center in Nashville, Tennessee, during conference games -- may be impactful, but only for one league.
Overall, college basketball will not undergo massive alterations next season. And that's a good thing, according to the committee.
"We really feel like the quality of the game has improved at all NCAA levels," Dambrot said. "Adjustments for next season are going to be relatively minor, which shows that most of the key stakeholders of the game think that things are going well."
It's also clear the committee is looking toward a future that may feature more NBA rules. But Dambrot said any new rules will demand proper consideration.
"We're not quite sure what those unintended consequences are," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...es-committee-declines-recommend-major-changes
Go Hoosiers!
This week, the power brokers of the college game discussed the implementation of an NBA 3-point line, quarters instead of halves and a wider lane, but decided against making any significant changes.
The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee, which met in Indianapolis for its annual meeting, will not make major recommendations to the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel. But its conversations included plans to work with the NBA on possible adjustments that would alter college basketball.
"We looked at all those things," Keith Dambrot, Duquesne coach and chairman of the rules committee, said during a Friday conference call. "We feel like we need to gather more data before we make a drastic move like that."
Moving the 3-point line from 20 feet, 9 inches to either 22 feet, 2 inches (FIBA) or 23 feet, 9 inches (NBA), widening the lane to 16 feet from 12 feet and adopting quarters, which the NIT employed a modified version of as an experiment last season, were all discussed. Committee members said they intend to work with the NBA to consider adjustments in the future.
Individual conferences and the NIT may choose to experiment with the prospective measures next season, Dambrot said. He cautioned, however, that college basketball's leaders do not want a game "completely mirrored after the NBA."
Art Hyland, the secretary/rules editor for the committee, said the group will analyze studies the NBA has conducted about the potential impact of adjustments, such as moving the 3-point line.
"They've offered to share with us their studies of what they've done by rule, and we look forward to working with them on that," Hyland said.
The committee also promoted the impact recent rule changes have had on college basketball, such as the 30-second shot clock in 2015-16, to make the game faster and more efficient.
Teams shot 44.4 percent from the field this season, the top mark since 1994-95, according to the NCAA. Scoring (73.4 PPG last season) and possessions (70.3 compared to 65.8 before the shot-clock change) also rose.
The rule changes for next season recommended by the committee -- expanding the coach's box to 38 feet, resetting the shot clock to 20 seconds instead of 30 after a foul or defensive violation and allowing instant replay in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime to certify block-charge calls -- will have a lesser impact in 2017-18, when compared to the sweeping shifts of recent years.
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel will vote on all changes next month.
The committee also proposed making throw-in spots in the frontcourt more consistent, a mandatory minimum of 0.3 seconds be taken off the clock when the ball is legally touched and redefining a legal screen.
An experimental SEC instant replay adjustment -- using a replay center in Nashville, Tennessee, during conference games -- may be impactful, but only for one league.
Overall, college basketball will not undergo massive alterations next season. And that's a good thing, according to the committee.
"We really feel like the quality of the game has improved at all NCAA levels," Dambrot said. "Adjustments for next season are going to be relatively minor, which shows that most of the key stakeholders of the game think that things are going well."
It's also clear the committee is looking toward a future that may feature more NBA rules. But Dambrot said any new rules will demand proper consideration.
"We're not quite sure what those unintended consequences are," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...es-committee-declines-recommend-major-changes
Go Hoosiers!
