Site Presented By
Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
I agree with King's ideas about center court. There are many instances when defenses get "penalized" for playing good defense. If I can tip the ball out of your hands back across half court, where you're not allowed to take the ball yourself, I should get the ball, because you failed to keep possession. I also wish they would have jump balls instead of the possession arrow, but at least that's a pretty fair way to save time and keep the game moving.
The time outs being called during legitimate action is getting out of hand. During some of these games, especially at the end of close games, there were times when I simply said, "What the hell is going on?" Players are in the middle of taking shots, diving on the floor, etc. The jumping-out-of-bounds-grabbing-the-ball-calling-time-out-in-one-motion thing gets awarded more than I'd like to see also. I agree 100% that you can't call TO during the action. Coaches shouldn't be allowed to call timeout at all. Only the player with the ball should be allowed to call TO, and only if he's unguarded. Good defense should be rewarded, especially in college basketball where the players aren't as good at shooting.
Finally, just about CBS' coverage: there was one thing they did that was unconventional that I liked. A few times, if the action was staying on one end of the court, CBS would show a shot of the court from the very corner of the baseline the offense was attacking. The camera looked like it was about 10 rows back, so it was only slightly above floor level and stayed that way until possession changed when it went back to the standard side view. It was a new, but not completely alien angle to show, and it offered an interesting way to see how the plays developed including seeing lanes for cutting to the basket you can't always see as easily with the side view. No big deal, just a neat angle to offer that actually added to my ability to see the game unfold, which is the exact opposite of what most gimmicky camera angles give you in sports.
King,
On point #14, I thought I knew where you were going, but you ended up going somewhere else.
Approximately eight seconds after that desperation heave you mention, there was another interesting fouling situation in the Illinois-Washington game. With Washington up 3, and in the double bonus, the announcers mentioned that if Washington could foul Illinois' Dee Brown on the floor, before he was able to take a shot, they'd put him on the line for 2. He'd be in the difficult position of having to miss the second shot on purpose, and hope for an offensive rebound, because there'd be no other way to compensate for the 3 point deficit by shooting 2 at the line.
To me, this doesn't quite seem right. The double bonus situation is supposed to punish Washington for excessive fouling. But in this case, they'd be able to leverage it to their advantage -- if they weren't in the double bonus, the foul would allow Illinois to run a play from out of bounds to get Brown a look at the 3. Washington didn't end up going the fouling route, and let Brown take a 3... which he missed. But they came a lot closer to losing than they would have if they'd fouled. It seems weird to me that a quick foul might have secured their win. Any thoughts? Should a team be allowed to opt-out of shooting free throws in a bonus situation, if they'd prefer the chance to inbound?
Yes it has been a great NCAA tournament and my only complaint with CBS is coach's wifes. Why does the camera need to stare at a coach's wife? College ball has always had a problem rewarding defense and changes are needed. A change also need to be made to keep a defense from stopping the clock away from the ball. Send the offense to the line for two shots if the ball is not touched. Again, as always love to read your column.
JIM
CBS abbreviated Arizona as ZONA up until a few years ago (maybe last year too; ZONA v. ILL is still burned in my brain). If you get the prestige of a high seed, then you're in the running for a cool abbrev. Plus VILL is resevered for the NIT Pitino squad, the Ville.
The Chevy-zeski corporate sponsors and Dookies would strap in for this matchup: CHEVY v. NOVA. That's only if Redick doesn't go Gumby gams and loses his jumper.
Four Catholic teams - ZAGA, Georgetown, BC, and NOVA - in the Sweet 16, what ever happened to giving up basketball for Lent?
ok, i'm writing this just cause i hope it helps me just let it go (after all, who really cares about stupid 2nd round loss in the tourney) - but the illini got screwed, 38 trips to the foul line for washington to 11, ELEVEN!, for illinois? that's just too big a disparity. grrrrrr.
ok, i can now hopefully move on with my life
good column kk
1) There's harldy a more irrational coaching practice than benching a player based on the number of fouls he's committed. While it might make sense to bench a player with three fouls in the first half, as a rule, it just doesn't make sense to take a player out of a game because you're afraid the player might have to come out of the game. Even with four fouls, you're figuring he's going to commit the fifth one at some point. Which strategy is more likely to keep him in the game, keep him in the game and hope for the best or take him out of the game and guarantee he's not on the floor contributing?
2) More support for a different timeout rule in basketball: Only one timeout allowed per team in the final two minutes of the game. Let the players play!
...could we all please observe a moment of silence here in honor of Ray Meyer, who passed away on St. Pat's Day? During his heyday as DePaul U's basketball coach, a popular phrase on students' T-shirts was "We Are DePaul." (I think it was a takeoff on "We Are Devo" which was a popular song at the time.) Well...Coach Meyer WAS DePaul - and in a way, always will be. Hail and Farewell!
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
