Low scoring games - this is the reason why

[bluedevilsince72]

The reason why scoring is down is at its lowest point in 15 years is the lack of time coaches can work on skill work during the offseason and the virtually unlimited time that kids work with strength and conditioning coaches. As a result, college players are getting stronger and more athletic which improves their defensive abilities (making getting open shots more difficult). This has been going on for 10 to 15 years. Also, most young players play in youth systems (aau) teams that are focused more on winning than development. So combine the lack of skills training at the youth level, the lack of time college coaches get to spend teaching kids in the offseason, and the rise in time with strength and conditioning coach and what you get is a bunch of spectacular athletes playing great defense with very little offensive skills (in particular shooting).

Right now, college coaches cannot work at all with kids in the summer. In order to correct a player's fundamental deficiencies like Mason Plumlee's shot, a coach has to work with that kid on a daily basis. College player's do not know how to fix these fundamental problems on their own. In order to fix Plumlee's shot, Coach Collins would have to spend roughly 30 straight days monitoring Mason's form. Instead, due to the rules that limit Coach Collin's time with Mason, Mason spends most of his offseason time in the weight room. The Duke coaches do not have enough time during the season to correct this problem when practice is more focused on team development.

The reasoning behind these NCAA offseason rules was to allow students to have more free time in the offseason. But, the reality is that they are still in the gym anyways and are forced to lift everyday. If college basketball wants to improve its game, then let coaches work with a player one on one in the offseason on offensive skills. Stop having them pounding weights and running around a track or doing sprints in the gym. As good as Coach Stephens is as the strength coach at Duke, I would rather have Mason spend more time with Coach Collins on his basketball skills. Put in a rule that limits the thousands of hours players are spending with the strength coach and have them spend their time with the actual basketball coaches.

Any other thoughts on the decline of scoring?

[jdc75]

I think that the physicality of the game has reached a point to where skilled scorers are increasingly neutralized by the amount of contact that is allowed. It makes sense to emphasize weight and strength training with the amount of body checking, shoving, holding and hacking that is accepted as normal defense now.

[bird]

I remember hearing that after an NCAA defeat Bobby Knight would keep the team together for practice, as the rules (then?) allowed continue practice through the end of the tournament or something like that.

My thought was that if I was Coach K, or any other coach, is that I would use whatever official practice time available as an extended shot clinic for the players. Get the guys on the court in small groups for a couple of hours a day, under the eye of the coaching staff or even a professional shot doctor, working on shot mechanics, drills that the players could use off season, and putting up hundreds of shots at game speed each day.

My uninformed opinion is that in team sports there are so many team-oriented aspects that have to be covered in practice pre and during season, that there is almost no time for individual skill building. Players come as is, improve over the summer or not, and maybe get better on skills during the season or not.

More on point, I would also say that early entry has had a noticeable effect on the offensive capabilities of elite teams. I would add that to the list, although probably not as important as other factors.

I would go to the women's rules: 30 second shot clock, no back court 10 second rule.

[weezie]

I remember hearing that after an NCAA defeat Bobby Knight would keep the team together for practice, as the rules (then?) allowed continue practice through the end of the tournament or something like that.

My thought was that if I was Coach K...I would use whatever official practice time available as an extended shot clinic for the players. Get the guys on the court in small groups for a couple of hours a day, under the eye of the coaching staff or even a professional shot doctor, working on shot mechanics, drills that the players could use off season, and putting up hundreds of shots at game speed each day.


That's an intriguing scenario. It might also be a good way to reach out to the players when they probably feel pretty down on themselves and possibly each other. A cathartic therapy exercise. I don't get the feeling that Duke does this but it's not out of the realm.

[Newton_14]

I think the game has gotten too physical, especially in the paint. One of my biggest beefs with college ref's is that post player can get killed making a post move and trying to score, and no foul is called, yet on the perimeter if you breathe on someone they call a foul. Also, notice how often guys who rebound a shot and put it back in draw phantom fouls on the defender standing next to them, who in most cases never touches the shooter. Same thing on guys flying in for a layup off a pass from a missed shot, or in a two on one. Defender waves at them, draws air, and the foul is called most every time. Drives me insane.

But back to the scoring. The biggest reason is early entry pushes guys who are not ready into the rotation, so teams have multiple freshman and sophomores on the floor instead of juniors and seniors. Next is that defenders are stronger as noted by the OP, and they are guarding those freshman/sophomores instead of guarding juniors/seniors. Also, in a lot of cases, AAU ball is hurting the growth of players, and they are falling behind in the fundamentals and skills. Lastly, nobody works on the midrange game anymore. Kids work on their 3 point stroke or attack the basket skills, and nothing in between. That's why you see so many charges/blocks. You want flopping to go away? Start teaching kids to blow by their man with that first step and then pull up for a midrange jumper. Michael Jordan was the greatest dunker of all time arguably, but he made his living with a deadly midrange jumpshot that could not be defended.

Get rid of the high ball screen. and pro iso "sets", go to more motion with an emphasis on constant movement of players and the ball, with kids capable of hitting the 3, or the midrange jumper, as well as taking it to the rack when its there, and scoring will go up. The games will be much more entertaining to watch as well.

My two cents...

[elvis14]

I think the points the OP made make an interesting theory but I think jdc75 has it...


I think that the physicality of the game has reached a point to where skilled scorers are increasingly neutralized by the amount of contact that is allowed. It makes sense to emphasize weight and strength training with the amount of body checking, shoving, holding and hacking that is accepted as normal defense now.


I think the game has gotten too physical, especially in the paint

I was having this conversation with a friend recently. I also think that the play in the NCAA's has deteriorated because of the physical play and not just in the paint. In the paint players are allowed to make a lot of contact. Over the back has stopped being called (especially against one team we all hate). When running the pick and roll, players are allowed to bump the player coming off the screen without getting a blocking call (as many screens as our bigs set, this really bothers me). When a center is able to just bump and bump a guard coming off a screen it takes away the quickness advantage for the guard. When players run set plays and are coming off a screen or multiple screens without the ball (think NCSU with the screen and curl for Wood or what we did with JJ) defenders are allowed to grab and bump to slow them down (think the LSU game where JJ was held the whole game).

I could go on and on. Basically, the flow of the game is allowed to interrupted by physical play. There's a fine line between good defense and physical play. I appreciate good defense. Kyle, Nolan and Kyrie played good clean defense for example. Our 2010 championship team played the tournament very physical. Basically they had guys who liked the physical play (Z, Lance, Kyle, Jon) and adjusted well to the tournament. I loved the win but the grind it out style of the last 3 games was not exactly a thing of beauty. Our boys winning was beautiful, however.

Now having said that, the OP may have a point that some offensive deficiencies might be from a lack of proper training. And a good mid range game makes a player deadly (like G! his last season).

[snowdenscold]

It's been said the NBA made a "business decision" to alter certain aspects of the gain in order to increase scoring. I believe the logic is more points and scoring = more fan interest = more money. Which makes sense.

I wonder if college will eventually feel the same market pressures. With so many college athletic decisions being driven by TV contracts, will the amount of scoring be a relevant factor for those in the future?

[g-money]

I could go on and on. Basically, the flow of the game is allowed to interrupted by physical play. .

Bingo - over the past 20-30 years the refs have allowed ever-increasing levels of contact by defenders in college basketball. I think last year's UConn-Butler final is perhaps the best example of why this officiating style is bad for the game (or at least the fans). Watch some footage of a random college basketball game 30 years ago, and you'll see players doing everything they possibly can to guard without making contact. We're pretty far away from that standard nowadays.


It's been said the NBA made a "business decision" to alter certain aspects of the gain in order to increase scoring. I believe the logic is more points and scoring = more fan interest = more money. Which makes sense.

I think what the NBA did was put an emphasis on the no handcheck rule. It led to a few painful seasons of teams shooting 50+ FTs per game as players struggled to adjust, but eventually the players figured it out, and I would argue that the NBA is a lot more entertaining now than it used to be. So, I think you're right - they made a good business decision.

The enforcement of the no handcheck rule has also been a boon for NBA PGs. I think the D Rose's of the world would have a much tougher go of it if defenders could still grab without being called for a foul.

[kmspeaks]

I remember hearing that after an NCAA defeat Bobby Knight would keep the team together for practice, as the rules (then?) allowed continue practice through the end of the tournament or something like that.

My thought was that if I was Coach K, or any other coach, is that I would use whatever official practice time available as an extended shot clinic for the players. Get the guys on the court in small groups for a couple of hours a day, under the eye of the coaching staff or even a professional shot doctor, working on shot mechanics, drills that the players could use off season, and putting up hundreds of shots at game speed each day.

My uninformed opinion is that in team sports there are so many team-oriented aspects that have to be covered in practice pre and during season, that there is almost no time for individual skill building. Players come as is, improve over the summer or not, and maybe get better on skills during the season or not.

More on point, I would also say that early entry has had a noticeable effect on the offensive capabilities of elite teams. I would add that to the list, although probably not as important as other factors.

I would go to the women's rules: 30 second shot clock, no back court 10 second rule.

Not to get too off-topic but unless the rules have changed in the 2 years since I graduated players are allowed to have "individual workouts" with coaches during the off-season. One coach can work with up to 4 players at a time. I believe mandatory activities in the off-season are not supposed to exceed 20 hours a week. So while the coaches may not be able to work with the players over the summer, they can work on shooting form and things like that between the start of the semester and CTC.

[CoachJ10]

I think that the physicality of the game has reached a point to where skilled scorers are increasingly neutralized by the amount of contact that is allowed. It makes sense to emphasize weight and strength training with the amount of body checking, shoving, holding and hacking that is accepted as normal defense now.

I have referred to this negative trend as the "Big Tenification" of college basketball to my fellow midwesterners. Playing defense now is not about using your feet...it is about using your hands. And it definitely is good at neutralizing natural "talent" differences.

* As an aside, perhaps that is why the Big Ten (in particular) has become a conference of parity.

[jdc75]

I have referred to this negative trend as the "Big Tenification" of college basketball to my fellow midwesterners. Playing defense now is not about using your feet...it is about using your hands. And it definitely is good at neutralizing natural "talent" differences.

* As an aside, perhaps that is why the Big Ten (in particular) has become a conference of parity.

Big Ten and Big Eastification!
I completely agree with you. It's made the college game and especially the tournament hard to watch. You are so right about players lacking in the use of foot work. Why bother when you can body up or use your hands and/or arm(s) to slow down your man. I remember my coaches telling me that hands should be palms up and that any downward slapping at the ball would be called a foul even if you got some of the ball. It was all about position and beating your man to the spot. Of course that was back in the 70's and 80's.

I too really wish the NCAA would follow the NBA's lead by at least eliminating all the hand checking. I remember the LSU game that Elvis14 mentioned and watching J.J. Redick being grabbed, held and hacked from start to finish. It was infuriating to watch.

ESPN showed the 1979 championship game between Michigan State and Indiana State a while back.(The famous Magic vs. Bird matchup) I was astounded by the amount of space players were allowed and how much more this showcased the skills that to me make basketball the most beautiful game to watch. I think one of the reasons the 2010 Duke team was so successful in the tourney is because Zoubs, Lance, Kyle "Nails" Singler, Scheyer and Nolan were older and stronger and were able to go toe to toe with anyone in this bruising style of play. I also think this is why State has done well thus far in the tourney because their team is built for this type of game.

[Jderf]

Big Ten and Big Eastification!

Sounds like we can shorten this to just Bigification.

[rsvman]

Maybe a bigger question to ask is this: is this really a problem? If so, why?

I don't think final scores really have much to do with whether a game is good or not. The issue is how is the game played? My sons and I have even mentally toyed with a scoring idea in which only the difference between the two teams is scored on the board. So when the Duke scores the first basket, the score is Duke 2. When Maryland makes a three on the other end the score is now Maryland 1. Final score of the Duke/UNC game at the Dean Dome would be, simply, Duke 1.

Sure, it's just a strange intellectual exercise, but let me ask you whether you think the game at the Dean Dome would've somehow been fundamentally changed had it been scored in that fashion? Why the fascination with high total scores?


In my opinion, shortening the shot clock would be the worst thing you could do to the game of basketball. What's the purpose of shortening the shot clock? Just to drive the scores up? What's the purpose of that?

[Ultrarunner]

Big Ten and Big Eastification!
I completely agree with you. It's made the college game and especially the tournament hard to watch. You are so right about players lacking in the use of foot work. Why bother when you can body up or use your hands and/or arm(s) to slow down your man. I remember my coaches telling me that hands should be palms up and that any downward slapping at the ball would be called a foul even if you got some of the ball. It was all about position and beating your man to the spot. Of course that was back in the 70's and 80's.

I too really wish the NCAA would follow the NBA's lead by at least eliminating all the hand checking. I remember the LSU game that Elvis14 mentioned and watching J.J. Redick being grabbed, held and hacked from start to finish. It was infuriating to watch.

ESPN showed the 1979 championship game between Michigan State and Indiana State a while back.(The famous Magic vs. Bird matchup) I was astounded by the amount of space players were allowed and how much more this showcased the skills that to me make basketball the most beautiful game to watch. I think one of the reasons the 2010 Duke team was so successful in the tourney is because Zoubs, Lance, Kyle "Nails" Singler, Scheyer and Nolan were older and stronger and were able to go toe to toe with anyone in this bruising style of play. I also think this is why State has done well thus far in the tourney because their team is built for this type of game.

Eliminating the hand checking would help but the contact in the post is a much bigger problem. Defenders are making a token gesture to playing the ball while delivering a shot to send a "message". In Kendall Marshall's case, this "message" resulted in a broken wrist. It nearly could have derailed the 2010 Duke team after Kyle was hammered into the court while going in for a lay up against Purdue - in that case, the play was on the ball but through Kyle's body. Reckless play and Kyle went 0-10 in his next game while nursing a sore wrist.

One of the games that Elmore did this year with Duke had him commenting on the nasty scratch on the back of Mason's arm and jokes about trimming fingernails. The point he should have made is that Mason was being grabbed and beat up in the post and no foul was called.

And my personal favorite from this year is Josh leaving the game bleeding, did not return because of a possible concussion, and no foul.

Didn't have time to check grammar, spelling - work beckons.