Critical Coaches: The rule that needs to be changed immediately

[CDC84]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/19793818/critical-coaches-the-rule-that-needs-to-be-changed-immediately

CBSSports.com's college basketball quartet of Gary Parrish, Jeff Goodman, Jeff Borzello and Matt Norlander spent the July recruiting period hobnobbing with nearly 100 coaches, brain-picking them on some of the sport's current issues. From the best players to their comrades in coaching; from the AAU programs to the agents' involvement; from the rule changes to the NCAA as a whole. We had to promise them anonymity, and in exchange, they gave us honest answers. Through Aug. 24, we'll be putting out one question per weekday and giving you the array of results, straight from the coaches' mouths.

[Bogozags]

Four rule changes I would incorporate:

1) No agent contact with any AAU/USSSA/high school/college player, until that player has formally announced withdrawal from the program to go professional. Penalties could be loss of player eligibility.

2) No one affiliated with a recruited player, who signs with a school, cannot be give any type of position at that school.

3) Every D1 school would have spending limits. Those schools that have "money" get the best coaches and players. Set a limit of spending for each sport, which I believe would even-out the playing field.

4) Shoe companies would not be able to sponsor sport's tournaments nor should coaches/athletic departments be allowed to accept money from them.


**No doubt these would have to be refined somewhat to be enforceable but the intent is to keep shoe money/agents out of the program as much as possible. And yes, I know these will NEVER occur.

[CDC84]

1) Adopt FIBA's timeout rules. A timeout can only be called by the coach and may only be granted in what is essentially a dead-ball situation: after a violation, or when the ball goes out of bounds. The coach also may be granted a timeout immediately after his team surrenders a basket. If Eli Manning is being chased around in the pocket by Ray Lewis, he doesn't get to call a timeout to bail himself out. Why should it be any different in basketball? Also, the FIBA rule would eradicate the loose ball scrums that we see where players are granted a TO without even really possessing the ball.

2) Strictly enforce the time that teams are allowed to make a substitution after a player is disqualified due to fouls, and make it illegal for teams to leave the playing floor and huddle around their bench while the substitution is taking place. Player disqualification shouldn't be used as a free timeout, and yet it continually is in college basketball.

3) If a coaching change takes place, all players should be able to immediately transfer, without penalty, if they chose to do so. Most high school players commit to a coach. They don't commit to a school or to a basketball program. Such a rule would make schools think twice about firing a coach.

4) Put the NBA draft decision deadline back to where it was. Kids shouldn't be making decisions that will effect the rest of their lives near the end of an academic semester. These decisions should be made when school is over. It's one the worst rules that college athletics has adopted in recent memory. The coaches who pushed it through are delusional if they truly believe they can replace NBA quality talent on their rosters with spring signees. It's led to a number of kids leaving early for the draft who might have come back if they had been allowed to truly test the waters.

5) All uniform numbers must be visible on a television set. In other words, do away with the Florida Gator-type uniforms (blue lettering on an orange background) that are fast becoming a trend with the sneaker companies.

[zag944]

-Given the choices between an age limit of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 years of college the current system (1 year) is the absolute worst by a mile. Players should be part of a college, or they shouldnt be there.

-Not really a rule change, but I think NBA referees do a significantly better job distinguishing charges from blocks. Generally I think this is a matter of being much less sympathetic to defensive players who step in the way at the last second with no intention of defending (moreso they are just trying to draw a charge). It seems insane to me how arbitrary the charge/block calls in NCAA generally seem to go.

[229SintoZag]

Mine

Eliminate the alternating possession arrow. If you force a tie up as a defender, you get the ball. On a toss up situation where both arrive at the ball at the same time, jump for it.

[UberZagFan]

1) Adopt FIBA's timeout rules. A timeout can only be called by the coach and may only be granted in what is essentially a dead-ball situation: after a violation, or when the ball goes out of bounds. The coach also may be granted a timeout immediately after his team surrenders a basket. If Eli Manning is being chased around in the pocket by Ray Lewis, he doesn't get to call a timeout to bail himself out. Why should it be any different in basketball? Also, the FIBA rule would eradicate the loose ball scrums that we see where players are granted a TO without even really possessing the ball.

Seconded. This is one of the worst rules in the game. And Uber doesn't understand why coaches do not teach the kids to stop calling TOs to save a possession, especially when there is more than 8-10 minutes left in a half. Almost always, if not always, the TO is more valuable than a possession with 10 minutes left in the game. And it's even worse when called with singled digits left on the shot clock--basically giving up a TO and having little chance of scoring on the "saved" possession.

While this may somewhat eradicate the loose ball scrums on the floor, there should be another rule or at least an emphasis from the referees to call fouls on players who jump on other players on the floor. When did it ever become acceptable to foul a player just because he went to the floor to get a loose ball?

3) If a coaching change takes place, all players should be able to immediately transfer, without penalty, if they chose to do so. Most high school players commit to a coach. They don't commit to a school or to a basketball program. Such a rule would make schools think twice about firing a coach.

Maybe modify this to only apply to fired coaches. This rule could hurt mid-majors who have some underclassmen talent that make their coach a wanted commodity and one who jumps ship to a bigger school. Those kids should not be free to move as easily. Uber has no problem with it if the school fires the coach.

Eliminate the alternating possession arrow. If you force a tie up as a defender, you get the ball. On a toss up situation where both arrive at the ball at the same time, jump for it.

The possession arrow is silly but so is this solution.

[JPtheBeasta]

Eliminate the alternating possession arrow. If you force a tie up as a defender, you get the ball. On a toss up situation where both arrive at the ball at the same time, jump for it.

I like that idea because it rewards a good play by the defense.

[bballbeachbum]

More enforcement against agents/runners: 6 percent

interesting to me that only 6% chose enforcing rules vs. agents/runners...not more stringent rules but simply enforcing rules.

and of the many good suggestions in this thread, this is my favorite, from CDC

4) Put the NBA draft decision deadline back to where it was. Kids shouldn't be making decisions that will effect the rest of their lives near the end of an academic semester. These decisions should be made when school is over. It's one the worst rules that college athletics has adopted in recent memory. The coaches who pushed it through are delusional if they truly believe they can replace NBA quality talent on their rosters with spring signees. It's led to a number of kids leaving early for the draft who might have come back if they had been allowed to truly test the waters.