Pitchin with Pritch: NCAA proposes five basketball rule changes
T
he NCAA’s committee on rules has sent some possible rule changes for the upcoming 2021-2022 Men’s basketball teams.
There were 13 major agenda items sent to the committee.
From those suggestions, there were five discussed by the committee.
Apparently, not all of the items that reached the committee were discussed but ended up in the 13 that did get sent forward.
There were five suggestions that were picked out to be discussed further for the 21-22 season.
These are the five that it looks to be the ones discussed and possibly be enacted next season.
1. Flopping can result in a technical foul.
2. Increase to six fouls with a maximum of four fouls allowed per half and those will be experimental in the NIT.
3. Allowance at the league level for coaches to use technology, live statistics and video on the bench.
4. Team timeouts can serve as/replace media timeouts.
5. Shot clocks will now be able to display tenths of a second.
All rules, if passed in June by the Playing Rules Oversight panel, would be in effect for next season.
As you look at the possible changes, some might work fine. Some are still going to be difficult because they will make an official make a judgement call that will be difficult.
I see the very first one listed that might fall into that bucket.
Is it a charge or a block has always been a judgement call. Now, did the defense actually get fouled or did the defensive man flop.
I really think that this rule will be a tough one but wouldn’t mind seeing it tried, just to see how it works.
Some players have made a skill adjustment to that play. The new rule would eliminate a warning for flopping and instead lead to a technical.
According to Tab Boyle, the head coach at Colorado, “We are trying to get flopping out of our game. We’re asking the officials to call them when they happen. It will be interesting to see how that works out.”
I agree with the coaches in wanting to get it cleaned up but it still will be a judgement call just like the block or charge call.
The next one dealing with six fouls instead five is interesting to me also. It is a modified six-foul rule.
Under the experimental rule, any player called for four personal fouls in one half would be disqualified from playing the rest of the game.
For example, a player who picks up four fouls in the first half would have to sit out the rest of the game.
If a player has one foul in the first half, he would be disqualified after picking up four in the second half.
If a player has three fouls in the first half, he would be disqualified after being called for three fouls in the second half.”
The rule is going to be used only in the NIT competition, where it could be studied a little more.
It could then be used in the NIT again in the 2023 season and if it appears to improve the game, then it would become permanent.
Another change would be to allow some technology on the sideline.
With this change, conferences will need to apply for a waiver and then can determine on their own what technology will be permissible.
The rule, for now, would not apply to non-conference games or the NCAA tournament.
In another change that sounds reasonable, the rules committee suggested a simple change to streamline games and keep them as close to the two-hour window as possible.
If or when a team calls a timeout, that timeout can serve as the media timeout so long as the media timeout hasn’t already been used.
The NCAA release on this rule came says, “If either team calls a timeout under the 16-minute mark, it will serve as the under-12-minute media timeout. Under this scenario, the next media timeout wouldn’t occur until the under-eight-minute mark.”
The committee thought this would make for an uncomplicated, overdue tweak toward game-play efficiency.
The last recommendation is for schools to be allowed, but not mandated, to have the shot clock display tenths of second.
It’s something that’s existed in the NBA for a number of years.
There were other rule changes that were discussed but not sent forward.
One that I saw was to widen the lane to 16 feet. Another was to eliminate the 10 second back court count and remove the offensive basket interference.
Rule changes over the years
I can remember when the lane was only six-foot wide.
I can also remember when Clyde Lovellette, Wilt Chamberlain, and other big guys were playing there were people who wanted to raise the basket to 12 feet. Glad they didn’t!
Now if they would just give one point for any dunk, one point for the now three-pointer, and make a mid-range basket count 2, maybe the player that could make a mid-range shot would return to the game.
Actually, I like it just as is. My only change would be no longer than 60 seconds could be used to study replay! Probably wouldn’t win that battle either.