New rules off to a good start

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I was among those who have railed for years that the college game had gotten too physical, so count me in with the crowd that is happy with the changes.

Let's hope that the players and coaches at all levels increase the focus on better footwork, ball handling, screening, shooting, passing and anticipation to win games and not the pushing, grabbing and hacking we have seen way too much of the past two decades that allowed weaker teams to keep from being beat on a play or to control a games tempo.

Let the best players play, open the flow of the games and let's marvel at big guys showing off great athletic skill.

Keep an eye out for a Rick Barnes retirement announcement any day now...

[MCFinARL]

Generally speaking, I guess I would agree that the rules, overall, are moving in the right direction, though I remain a little concerned that defenses are so limited in what they can do. But the adjustment period has been painful, as both refs and players figure out what they are doing. One game every drive to the hoop seems to result in a foul on the defense, the next, almost none do. As teams get into their league seasons and each league's refs develop some consistency in calling games, it should get better.

[BlueDevilBrowns]

Generally speaking, I guess I would agree that the rules, overall, are moving in the right direction, though I remain a little concerned that defenses are so limited in what they can do. But the adjustment period has been painful, as both refs and players figure out what they are doing. One game every drive to the hoop seems to result in a foul on the defense, the next, almost none do. As teams get into their league seasons and each league's refs develop some consistency in calling games, it should get better.

Until the NCAAT, when I fear that the inconsistencies will return. My guess is we will see games officiated differently by conference(i.e. B1G being more physical, ACC more finesse, etc.) due to familiarity of referee's officiating styles and team's playing styles.

When we get to tournament time, I predict it will be again a mishmash of one game being overly-physical and another being overly-officiated. It's what makes this year's March Madness even more unpredictable than in year's past.

[jv001]

Until the NCAAT, when I fear that the inconsistencies will return. My guess is we will see games officiated differently by conference(i.e. B1G being more physical, ACC more finesse, etc.) due to familiarity of referee's officiating styles and team's playing styles.

When we get to tournament time, I predict it will be again a mishmash of one game being overly-physical and another being overly-officiated. It's what makes this year's March Madness even more unpredictable than in year's past.

I agree with your "guess". The college game may go back to how the games were called years ago. The ACC was a finesse league and when the NCAAT rolled around, the games were rougher and the ACC teams struggled against the physical play. Let's hope this doesn't happen in 2014. GoDuke!

[Kedsy]

I agree with your "guess". The college game may go back to how the games were called years ago. The ACC was a finesse league and when the NCAAT rolled around, the games were rougher and the ACC teams struggled against the physical play. Let's hope this doesn't happen in 2014. GoDuke!

I assume you're talking about the '80s and '90s? While ACC teams may have struggled, the truth is that from 1981 to 2002, the league had 23 Final Four teams in those 22 years, so some of our teams didn't struggle all that much.

That said, I agree about the possibility that the "new rules" will be inconsistently called during the NCAAT. It's been a worry of mine since the new rules were announced.

[MChambers]

Overall, I think the rule changes and changes in interpretations are good things, but I worry about inconsistency like some others here. I'm also troubled by result thus far that the changes seem to encourage zone defenses. I don't think that's an improvement.

[PSurprise]

Are refs "governed" by the NCAA or the conferences? It would maybe seem to do some good for ALL the refs to get together and discuss rules changes, issues, etc at the beginning of the year and maybe right before tournament time. That has always been one of my gripes with the tournament, how each game takes on it's own personality often based on how/what the refs are calling it. I'm sure it's hard for the players to adjust every weekend

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I think we are going to see games called unevenly just like always. It's the human part of the game. But at least we now have a baseline of where we want to go with the new focus.

Player match ups usually determine how a game unfolds, and the refs will struggle sometimes to set a games pace.

It's up to the players to recognize how a game is being called and adjust. There is a mental part of the game that is as important or even more so than how high a kid can jump.

Good teams will adapt and win games.

[Kfanarmy]

Are refs "governed" by the NCAA or the conferences? It would maybe seem to do some good for ALL the refs to get together and discuss rules changes, issues, etc at the beginning of the year and maybe right before tournament time. That has always been one of my gripes with the tournament, how each game takes on it's own personality often based on how/what the refs are calling it. I'm sure it's hard for the players to adjust every weekend

Recommend reading this arcticle from ESPN: http://espn.go.com/ncb/notebook/_/pa...-rules-working

If accurate, the NCAA supervisor of officials did his best to educate every official on the rules and their implementation: "To make that happen with these new rules, Adams spent the better part of the early fall barnstorming. He met with the NABC board of directors and the NCAA tournament selection committee, with all of the coordinators in every Division I, II and III conference. And finally, he met with every official during four regional clinics."

[BigWayne]

Are refs "governed" by the NCAA or the conferences? It would maybe seem to do some good for ALL the refs to get together and discuss rules changes, issues, etc at the beginning of the year and maybe right before tournament time. That has always been one of my gripes with the tournament, how each game takes on it's own personality often based on how/what the refs are calling it. I'm sure it's hard for the players to adjust every weekend

It's explained a bit in this very interesting article: http://espn.go.com/ncb/notebook/_/pa...-rules-working

Basically, the regular season is run by the conferences and then the NCAA takes over for the tournament. Each conference gets to pick one "conference champion" ref that goes to the tournament, so there are some "16 seeds" doing tournament games.

[Tom B.]

I assume you're talking about the '80s and '90s? While ACC teams may have struggled, the truth is that from 1981 to 2002, the league had 23 Final Four teams in those 22 years, so some of our teams didn't struggle all that much.

That said, I agree about the possibility that the "new rules" will be inconsistently called during the NCAAT. It's been a worry of mine since the new rules were announced.

The ACC also had five national championships in the 80s and 90s. No other conference had more than three in the same time span, unless you count Louisville (which was then a member of the now-defunct Metro Conference) as a member of the Big East. Then the Big East ties the ACC with five.

Or perhaps he was talking about the time period from 2000 forward? But the ACC has hardly struggled in that time frame, either -- 10 Final Fours and five National Championships in 14 years. Again, that's more titles than any other conference in the same span.

[Bob Green]

I assume you're talking about the '80s and '90s?

I'm fairly confident jv001 is referring to the '70s. My memory tells me the ACC had some really talented teams get beat in physical games during the tournament. Alabama trounced Carolina by repeatedly dumping the ball inside to a very physical big man named Douglas (I can't recall his first name off the top of my head).

[TruBlu]

I'm fairly confident jv001 is referring to the '70s. My memory tells me the ACC had some really talented teams get beat in physical games during the tournament. Alabama trounced Carolina by repeatedly dumping the ball inside to a very physical big man named Douglas (I can't recall his first name off the top of my head).

I do not recall that game, but I just became a big fan of (No First Name) Douglas.

[Kedsy]

I'm fairly confident jv001 is referring to the '70s. My memory tells me the ACC had some really talented teams get beat in physical games during the tournament. Alabama trounced Carolina by repeatedly dumping the ball inside to a very physical big man named Douglas (I can't recall his first name off the top of my head).

OK, the 70s was certainly the ACC's worst showing in the last five decades, with only four Final Fours and one championship. But I assume part of that was the league was restricted to one representative for half the decade and just two for a couple years after that. And still, four Final Fours in ten years isn't a poor conference performance by any means, especially considering the league also had two or three Elite Eight finishes as well.

[Bob Green]

I do not recall that game, but I just became a big fan of (No First Name) Douglas.

It was Leon Douglas (I googled it) who led Alabama to a 79-64 win over North Carolina.

[Bob Green]

OK, the 70s was certainly the ACC's worst showing in the last five decades, with only four Final Fours and one championship. But I assume part of that was the league was restricted to one representative for half the decade and just two for a couple years after that. And still, four Final Fours in ten years isn't a poor conference performance by any means, especially considering the league also had two or three Elite Eight finishes as well.

I agree the results do not represent a poor conference performance, but I clearly remember the perception existed in barber shop discussions across North Carolina that the ACC was hampered in the tournament due to it being a finesse league.

[loran16]

For the record, Pomeroy had a good post on how fouls trend this year compared to previous years:
http://kenpom.com/blog/index.php/web...rave_new_world

If the difference in the trend of turnover rate is real, it tells me that defenses are adjusting to the new rules interpretations, and not necessarily in the way that coaches like Izzo and Larry Eustachy fear. We may be on the path to a more free-flowing game, with more scoring and a less drastic drop in turnover rate than it looks based on the early data. Sure, there will be a few more fouls called, but we’ll see fewer players in foul trouble as the season continues, as was the case in previous seasons.

Also of note is there's evidence charges are being called again:
http://kenpom.com/blog/index.php/web...es_coming_back

[Olympic Fan]

The ACC also had five national championships in the 80s and 90s. No other conference had more than three in the same time span, unless you count Louisville (which was then a member of the now-defunct Metro Conference) as a member of the Big East. Then the Big East ties the ACC with five.

Or perhaps he was talking about the time period from 2000 forward? But the ACC has hardly struggled in that time frame, either -- 10 Final Fours and five National Championships in 14 years. Again, that's more titles than any other conference in the same span.

I think the feeling was that the ACC was hurt in postseason by rough play in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1950s, the ACC was plagued by fights on the court (culminating in the famous Art Heyman-Larry Brown fight in 1961). The ACC response was to get very ticky-tack in the way it was called. As a result, ACC teams often struggled against the more physical game allowed in the NCAA Tournament.

In the early 1980s, a new generation of ACC coaches argued that the league needed to change its officiating approach. They wanted an ex-coach to run the officiating in the league. Jim Valvano suggested Fred Barakat, the former coach at Fairfield. Barakat brought the concept of "no advantage, no foul" to the league.

A lot of people griped about Barakat, but in his more than 20 years as director of ACC officials through most of the 80-s, all of the 90s and into the 21st century, the ACC had the best NCAA record of any conference ... in fact, it had the best NCAA record any conference has ever had over an extended period. Maybe it's just coincidence, but when Barakat retired and was replaced by John Clougherty, the ACC's overall performance in postseason dropped almost immediately.

[weezie]

Anybody seen Karl Hess up in this joint?

[-jk]

Anybody seen Karl Hess up in this joint?

He's been goin' mobile as the Who used to say.

-jk