Emerson: Why college basketball is struggling?

[Danny J]

The problem with AAU is that it has seeped down to the lowest levels of basketball.  No one works on fundaments anymore, coaches don't because no one wants to play that way.  Go to any youth basketball from rinky dink up through 9th grade.  The fundamentals are horrible, and no one cares.  Fundamental ball is looked at as old, stidgy, boring.

AND because college coaches are only allowed a certain number of hours with the players so that limits their ability to do anything but teach the specifics of the offense/defense and less on fundamentals. A simple solution would be to double the allotted amount of time. I am not sure how they come up with the 21hrs or whatever it is in the first place.

[Big Daddy]

MS St. scores 10 points in the first half tonight. What the heck has happened to college basketball? It's unwatchable.

[mizzouman]

Yeah, its even hard for me to watch. Should we a lot worse. We've missed 3 easy layups.

[Hoggish1]

Look at our game with two minutes in the half at low 20's...

[Danny J]

Lack of fundamentals. Everybody wants to dunk or shoot 3's. The refs insert themselves too much in some instances and not enough in others. Lots of reasons.

[hogball33]

I root for it more now that its down. Watched a lot of games including Duke and North Carolina tonight since the Hogs played on a weird channel I don't have. (Followed hog game on my iPad of course)

[GS99]

I used to say that I've been watching the NBA for 30 years and I have no idea what a foul is.  NCAA is like that now.  Some show was talking about how coaches now teach their guys to foul with their chests because the refs have decided to only call hand fouls. Supposedly the refs are pissed that the coaches are teaching that, but the coaches are just responding to how it's called.

That being said, hand checks, pushes, and slap fouls calls seem to have no pattern either.  It's definitely rougher over all than it's been in a while, but it's hard to predict how calls will go in a game.

[choppedporkextrasauce]

MS St. scores 10 points in the first half tonight. What the heck has happened to college basketball? It's unwatchable.

jeez give them a break, they've had it rough, transfers and tons of injuries. sometimes teams just have to survive before it gets better.

[cardinalandwhite]

I wish the NBA would institute a 3 year rule.  I don't know why they wouldn't. 

The one-and-done rule protects owners.  They get a year of college to see a kid play against major competition, but still get them young.  That helps reduce picks like Kwame Brown at #1 overall.  The year provides a decent evaluation period (much better than a kid coming straight out of high school), but doesn't deprive them of the talent for the long term.  The NBA has no reason to change the format.

[Beaverfever]

The one-and-done rule protects owners.  They get a year of college to see a kid play against major competition, but still get them young.  That helps reduce picks like Kwame Brown at #1 overall.  The year provides a decent evaluation period (much better than a kid coming straight out of high school), but doesn't deprive them of the talent for the long term.  The NBA has no reason to change the format.

yeah I agree 100 percent.  It's all about not blowing money on lottery picks.  I just wish they'd extend the rule to three years.  It'd be great for the game in general.  Sure some players would go to Europe, oh well. 

[hogifino]

IMHO the shot clock needs to be thrown away. Sorry guys not a big fan of it but I'm an ole coach and want the opportunity to win even if I am not the more athletic.   I prefer giving the skilled players the opportunity to compete against the more athletic.  And yes the ability to build a team is weakened by the athlete leaving early.  If a player is good enough to go to the pros in year one or two .... he is draft potential after high school.

[ChicoHog]

I see what you're saying, but to me, we have too many instances of guys setting up underneath drivers and getting rewarded for VERY iffy block/charge calls.

Not saying that we shouldn't give player control fouls, but when the game ends and we have 5-6 charge calls, that's too many, and its having a negative effect on the quality of the game.

Its all about creating better situations for offense. The NFL isn't dumb, and they aren't making it hard on defenses for no reason...The common fan doesn't want to watch defense.

I disagree.  I get so mad at our guys for trying to block shots all the time and fouling instead of taking a charge. Kikko and Wade do it but many more.  Mickelson and Powell don't know what a charge is.

[ChicoHog]

Saturday night saw the Georgia men's basketball team play yet another low-scoring and foul-marred game - which left the crowd booing the officials after the home team actually won. But the scoring, physical play and other issues aren't limited to Georgia: Scoring and attendance are down nationally, and fouls and physical play are up.

Why is the sport suddenly struggling so much? Well, it's not so sudden.

The top 10 reasons:

1. Players leaving school early...

2. Too physical play
Georgia head coach Mark Fox correctly called this a "national problem," ...

3. AAU

4. 3-Pointer

5. College Football

6. The Charge Call

7. The officiating

...
http://www.macon.com/2013/02/11/2351660/why-college-basketball-is-struggling.html

1.  By far the biggest problem.  Like HogSanity said in an earlier post either go straight from HS or stay 3 years.  Like baseball.  Football does it and won the legal battle when maurice clarett challenged it.  have to get NBA union to agree and I don't see that happening.  They should as it would help the veteran players who have earned their way and improve the game.  And the other problem is even if they don't make the NBA there are so many overseas opportunities that weren't there 20 years ago.  Most of these guys would rather make money playing basketball in Timbuktoo than go to class and get a degree. 
2.  This one doesn't bother me too much compared to most of the others.
3.  AAU-second biggest reason.  just play tournaments, hardly practice, etc.,  horrible for the college game but coaches like it so they can see multiple players at one time during the summer. 
4.  3-pointer.  Not a fan of it but at least the line moved back a couple years ago.
5.  love college football!
6.  Charge call. I don't like the half circle.  I have no problems with charges and I wish the hogs would take more instead of trying to block every shot.
7.  Officiating-I think it's ok. 

[jbcarol]

We've talked about them at length, and discussed solutions, but here's a few that actually can be implemented.  Discussed as part of a team profile:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8959324/college-basketball-scoring-problem-west-liberty-university-coach-jim-crutchfield

"Almost everyone I spoke to agreed that the shot clock should be lowered to at least 30 seconds, though Pomeroy suggested that would actually decrease offensive efficiency rather than achieve the desired result.

Pomeroy thinks perimeter physicality is one of the prime culprits, and notes the central problem with even attempting to fix this: It'll mean a profusion of foul calls that will, at least in the short term, enrage fans and slow down the game even more."

[Biggus Piggus]

One of the things I think that is slowing the game down is the fact that coaches continually try to run "plays " instead of running an offense. My sons HS team(along with most other teams) run a play to get a 3 at the top of the key. If it is not open, they set back up and try another play.  When I played(25 yrs ago) we ran an offense and took the best shots open. If a shot is not open we just kept running until one came open.  We rarely had to stop and reset. I hate to see teams stop and start over. They even do it in practice.

This is very good. Players now pass up open shots because they are running their friggin play.

[ChicoHog]

Good article JB.  I still think one of the issues is that's easier to teach and control defense because it's all about effort while offense is skills like shooting, passing, dribbling, etc., Good athletes, which there are plenty in D1 basketball, can play defense well, but not necessarily be good basketball players. 

[jbcarol]

Big East and Atlantic 10 are projected to have 14 teams in the NCAA-T between them.

Neither will closely resemble their current lineup in the future.

[Brass Knob]

Big East and Atlantic 10 are projected to have 14 teams in the NCAA-T between them.

Neither will closely resemble their current lineup in the future.

The Big East is still loaded for next year, then L'Ville and the C7 are gone. However, they will still be a solid basketball league, although not anywhere near where they currently are. But UCONN, Cincy, Memphis, and Temple are a pretty solid foundation. Of course all of those teams are bolting as soon as the ACC comes calling.

I also would like to see the NBA institute a straight out of high school or x amount of years rule. I think 3 is a little unreasonable for basketball but 2 would be fine. There are still several players that are drafted after one year that really needed more time to develop. I believe the one year rule brings a certain amount of selfishness to the game. Players know they are only going to be here one year and are in essence playing for their draft spot because they really are not invested in the program. I know Cal and Kentucky made it work one time, but they also had solid veteran leaders. Look at them this year...

[jbcarol]

Last season had fewest points and foul calls in decades

Some might say, "But fewer fouls means smoother play! The refs are finally not calling ticky-tack stuff. This is a good thing." Alas, that's not the case. Because what's happening is rougher play that leads to fewer fouls called. How can that be? Players are fouling with their chest and grinding up the game because that's exactly what many coaches are teaching them to do.

It's creating a slog, and it's why nearly everyone reacted so positively to that national final between Louisville and Michigan; the game was antithetical to the greater trend.

As points per game continue to dip, points per possession actually increase. It's an interesting inverse of trends. As a result, the past 13 seasons have seen fewer and fewer turnovers per game. The options for chaos don't exist on most possessions, and so the game becomes more predictable by nature.

"I'm no more concerned this year than last or year before," director of officials John Adams said in the story. "Because we've been looking at a decline in points (for a while). Clearly a 10- or 11- or 12-year decline is something to be concerned about."

The rules committee meets in a couple of weeks, and this will be topic No. 1, more than likely (in addition to the 30-second shot clock option). And yet, amid all this, the regular season and postseason saw spikes in viewership that were the highest, in some cases, in more than 10 years...

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/22132030/alarming-last-season-had-fewest-points-and-foul-calls-in-decades

[jbcarol]

 Dan Dakich @dandakich  ·  May 21

College coaches do us all a favor..watch then teach the Warrior type ball movement and cutting..they do it in 24 secs..#losehiballscreen

[jbcarol]

 We take the stairs @NoEscalators  ·  May 21

How can anyone watch college basketball? Players can't even execute and get a shot off at the end of games.

[jbcarol]

Monitoring physicality as important as the shot clock in increasing offensive production

With the men's college basketball rules committee proposing a host of changes in hopes of increasing scoring earlier this month, the move that attracted the most attention was their recommendation to trim the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds. However, while having five fewer seconds to attempt a shot does increase the likelihood of more possessions in a game it doesn't not guarantee more points on the scoreboard.

One coach who isn't in favor of the move is Colorado head coach Tad Boyle, who discussed the matter with Brian Howell of the Boulder Daily Camera. Boyle also touched on another key in college basketball, which in recent years has been decried as being too physical by some. If people want to see more points scored, ensuring that freedom of movement initiatives are not only enacted but enforced by officials needs to occur as well.

"No, I think it's a very exciting game. If they want to increase scoring, they just have to take away the physical play and the game has to be officiated differently and it has to be officiated more consistently. You could make an argument that the college game is more physical than the pro game, because of the way it's officiated and what you're allowed to get away with and what you're not. The defensive rules that the NBA has put in place, if we ever get to that, that's when you're going to see scoring really take off."

The fact that the rules committee is looking to make improvements is a good thing, even if some don't agree with the measures they've proposed. But if there's to be any lasting impact, consistent officiating in regards to the physicality of the game is key.

While some conferences are sticklers for "strategies" such as bumping cutters, others aren't as strict in enforcing freedom of movement. It should be noted that in college basketball, officials are essentially independent contractors who can be work for any conference that asks them to work games, which is why some have schedules that result in them calling five or six games in a week.

Dan Dakich @dandakich  ·  May 19

College hoops has never been less physical...nobody cuts so nobody holds cutters..need for "freedom of movement" rules are laughable

[jbcarol]

SEC spring meetings in Destin: Calipari noted that the game has "gotten way too rough"

"Here's what the question will be: How long will they keep calling the fouls?" Calipari said. "Two years ago, we started this and then no one had the stomach for it. The teams that advanced in the NCAA Tournament that year fouled on every possession. So then we all — me included — went back to football practice. 'That's it. Put helmets on. Let's go. That stuff was a bunch of BS.' And by the end of the year, that's how we played and basically made it to the Final Four playing football."

Freedom of movement was once again mentioned this spring, but the conversation means little if there isn't consistent enforcement. While that will ultimately fall upon the officials and their supervisors, understanding from players, coaches, media and fans will be needed as well.

A common complaint two years ago was that games took too long due to the increased number of foul calls, and there were some games in which the number of fouls called reached a "ridiculous" level. The complaints grew, and eventually teams were getting away with as much contact in areas such as bumping cutters as they were before.

That can't occur if officials are to emphasize freedom of movement again in 2015-16, regardless of how loud the complaints become. Players and coaches are more than capable of adjusting, something Calipari noted at the meetings, but if there isn't consistency in enforcing these rules they won't adjust at all. Shortening the shot clock is the "easy" solution, and it's one that doesn't force teams to change all that much...

[jbcarol]

Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein 22h22 hours ago

The 2015 NCAA Tournament had the highest average viewership in 22 years. Have people really stopped watching? http://on.ncaa.com/1DHsTaR

[jbcarol]

Jay Bilas ‏@JayBilas Jun 25

One of the sweetest shooters in basketball (also pictured, C.J. McCollum). @cjmccollum



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