New rules
Tie-ups won't call for arrow; palming will be called
Posted: Thursday November 05, 1998 11:30 AM
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Enough already: NCAA referees hope the new rules will give coaches like Clem Haskins (left) less to talk about Brian Bahr/Allsport |
By John Donovan, CNN/SI
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- Out-of-control coaches all over the floor, too many timeouts at the end of a game, players dribbling the ball like it's stuck to their palm ... if there are problems with the game of college basketball, the honchos on the NCAA rules committee aim to fix them.
For the 1998-99 college basketball season, the rules committee has passed one major rules change and will more strictly enforce two rules already on the books. The result, the members of the committee hope, will be a more balanced game that will appeal both to the fans and the television networks.
Chief among the rules changes is one that will bring cheers from defensive coaches around the nation.
When a player without the ball ties up an opponent with the ball -- say, a defender puts his hands on the ball cleanly while the offensive player still has control -- the ball will go to the defense. That's a switch from last year, when the possession arrow determined who would get the ball.
The held-ball also could come into play when a defender stuffs a shooter who never leaves the ground.
"We felt it was a rule that hurt the defense," said Herb Kenny, the former director of athletics at Wesleyan University in Connecticut who served as chairman for the men's rules committee. "Some of the rationale in our thinking was we would reward the defense for good play. It's really a very small percentage that this occurs. But, when it occurs, we felt it should be rewarded."
This isn't the death of the possession arrow. The arrow still comes into play when two players knock a ball out of bounds at the same time, or when the ball is lodged between the rim and the backboard.
And the held-ball play doesn't happen all that often. Research indicates a held-ball initiated by the defense happens less than once a game, according to Dr. Edward Billick, the athletics director at Springfield College.
"The thinking behind it," Billick explained, "is if you have the basketball, it is your responsibility to take care and protect that basketball."
This can greatly affect the strategy of a game, especially in the final minutes. In the past, when the team with the ball was ahead and had the possession arrow, the team could afford to get tied up. Now, teams with the lead can't chance it -- they'll have to run their offense. And aggressive defenses are rewarded if they can get a held-ball.
Other rules changes involve a player pulling down the rim (the rules now clearly define it as basket interference) and double personal fouls (now the team that was in possession gets the ball back, instead of relying on the possession arrow).
The rules changes that may get the most attention, though, are not rules changes at all. Instead, officials have decided to emphasize a couple rules already in effect.
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Still subject to scrutiny
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The rules committee also will test several rules changes during "experimental" games during the preseason. Among them:
Moving the shot clock from 35 to 45 seconds. This is expected to give the committee a full body of research to make a final determination on the span of the shot clock.
Moving the first space on the free throw lane 10 inches farther from the basket. In response to increasingly rough play under the basket, coaches have asked to look at the effect of moving the players away from the basket on free throws.
Limiting the number of timeouts coaches have at the end of a game. This rule is to designed to shorten the amount of time needed to play the last few minutes of televised games. Television timeouts would be called at the first dead ball after the 16-, 12-, eight- and four-minute marks in each half. Teams would not possess "full" timeouts. Each team would have five mini-timeouts (30 seconds in length), and each team could carry four mini-timeouts to the second half. The first mini-timeout called in the game (by either team) automatically would become a full timeout.
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For one, palming -- changing the direction of the ball with the palm of the hand during a dribble in order to gain an advantage over an opponent -- will be called. The rule hasn't been enforced for years, but the rules committee already has instructed officials to watch for it and call it this season.
"I’ve tried to point that out to our players all along," said Reggie Minton, the head coach at Air Force and the new chair of the rules committee. "It's virtually impossible to guard a guy when he's coming down full speed and can put his hands on the ball and change direction. Players don't have to do that. They're skilled enough that they don't have to do it."
The move often is used in the open court, and many players have used it on crossover dribbles to lose a defender.
The other rule that will be emphasized -- and is sure to get some notice -- is keeping coaches in their coaching boxes.
"The coaching box has really been disregarded in past seasons. We felt like a lot of coaches were getting an advantage," Kenny said. "We were going to change the rule ... [but] we kind of backed off a little but to give the referees one more year to clean this up."
Refs can call a technical foul the first time a coach is seen out of the box, though the rules allow for a warning first. Many coaches have been concerned that coaches who wonder well past the box in front of the bench gain an advantage -- both in communicating with their players on the floor and, perhaps, affecting the officiating.
"This is going to clear up fast, and I think that's for the betterment of the game," Kenny said. "Coaches do gain an advantage by it."
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