A word of caution regarding change: the 2005 NCAA title game was close, competitive and reasonably high-scoring. If the rules are left alone, we might see another just like it next year

Sporting News, The, April 22, 2005 by Mike DeCourcy

The final margin of the NCAA championship game, a classic, was three points. There were breathtaking games throughout the month of March, including some of the greatest NCAA Tournament upsets.

And, not long after it was over, the game changed forever.

Remember 1986? That was the year of Louisville 72, Duke 69 for the NCAA title. It was the year of Cleveland State in the Sweet 16 and Navy in the Elite Eight. It was the last year college basketball was played without a 3-point shot.

So don't think that because we just concluded a dramatically successful NCAA Tournament the game is safe from change. The rules committee will meet May 2-4 in Indianapolis and discuss changes that could be considered radical as a package: moving the 3-point line from 19 feet, 9 inches to the international distance of 20-6; widening the 3-second lane from 12 feet to 15; and installing a no-charge zone that would extend in a 2-foot radius beneath the basket.

The majority of polled constituencies--including coaches, game officials and conference commissioners--are in favor of changing the lane and 3-point line. That doesn't mean it will happen. Some coaches indicated after meetings during the Final Four that change seems less likely than it once did.

In the past, the rules committee also polled members of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for their insights on proposed changes. But no more. So we must state our cases publicly.

The package of changes might be livable, but the North Carolina-Illinois championship game presented three pieces of evidence regarding why the committee must carefully consider this move.

* Sean May. The Final Four's star would have been at least slightly diminished by a widened lane. Many of his title game baskets were scored after setting up deep in the low post. That would have been tougher if he were establishing position farther from the basket.

May showed the ability to dribble and score on quick moves. But the ability of May and players like him--including Wake Forest's Eric Williams, Duke's Shelden Williams and LSU's Glen Davis--to influence the game could wane.

Ed Bilik, the rules committee's secretary-editor, says a wider lane might force post players to develop greater skills and that the lessened value of post position would lead to fewer off-the-ball scrums between offensive and defensive players.

* James Augustine's charge. The rules committee does not want scoring to decrease. So if fewer baskets are scored in the post because of the widened lane, the committee will have to make sure it encourages scoring by driving to the basket. That's why the no-charge zone is being considered.

However, the way officials call charging will make it difficult for players to be confident about taking the ball to the rim even with a no-charge zone. Players frequently are called for charging against defenders who aren't blocking their paths to the goal. Those defenders merely are standing adjacent to that path but are absorbing the slightest amount of contact and falling to the floor.

That happened on the second foul called on Augustine, Illinois' center, with 10:53 left in the first half. Breaking officials' habits is much harder than retyping the rulebook.

* Ratings. The huge increase in television ratings for the NCAA Tournament and Final Four--and, in most cases, for regular-season games--suggests this game is not in need of improvement.

Yes, the 3-point line is too close to the goal. But it was too close 19 years ago. And another 9 inches doesn't make a huge difference. College basketball is not such a perfect game that it cannot be improved. But it doesn't seem to need much fixing at the moment.

speed reads

Let's hope the figurative door between college basketball and the NBA does not strike North Carolina's Rashad McCants in his derriere.

Don't get too worked up about all of the announcements of juniors entering the draft. Remember, Illinois forward Roger Powell put his name on the draft list last season, but he was back grabbing rebounds and defending big men for the Illini in 2004-05. Entering the draft can be educational--so long as the players going through the process don't take too much time off from class.

Note to the media: The people who rioted in East Lansing after Michigan State lost in the Final Four were not Spartans fans. They were rioters. Is the distinction really that hard to understand?

North Carolina was a unanimous choice for the No. 1 ranking in the final ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. Whew. I know I was sweating out that vote.

INSIDE DISH

Gonzaga is pleased with the development of 6-11 C Josh Heytvelt, who redshirted as a freshman and is expected to take Ronny Turiaf's position in the rotation. The Zags understand it's easier to compete in practice without the pressure to perform, but Heytvelt regularly showed athletic ability around the basket and highly developed post skills that could allow him to develop into a star. He entered Gonzaga needing to work harder, and he appeared to do so during his first year. > How's this for an odd scenario created by the change in the RPI formula? A school such as Pittsburgh could do substantially more for itself by visiting a local rival such as Robert Morris than by playing the Colonials at home. A win at RMU would be weighted as 1.4 victories, whereas a home win for Pitt against the same opponent would be worth 0.6. But if such a game were scheduled, traveling would require only a half-hour bus ride, and most of the fans in attendance probably would cheer for the Panthers. The new RPI is full of holes. > For new St. Francis (N.Y.) coach Brian Nash, the chance to take over the Terriers meant getting to be back home in Brooklyn. He has one open scholarship and would like to find a junior college prospect eager for the same trip home. Nash's father, Ray Nash, played for St. Francis. > F Roy Bright is leaving Cincinnati, partly because at 6-6 he was forced to play out of position in the post. He plans to transfer to Charlotte, which is losing senior SF Eddie Basden and will lose junior PF Curtis Withers after next season. The 49ers will join the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2005-06. > Five-Star founder Howard Garfinkel is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his instructional camps this summer and promises his August 27-31 week in Honesdale, Pa., will have the best talent of any camp this summer. He points out that the best prospects during the July evaluation period will be divided among camps run by Nike, Reebok and Adidas but says his Honesdale camp won't have that problem. Garfinkel plans to have Louisville coach Rick Pitino, one of the many coaches who got his start at Five-Star, present one of the keynote lectures. > Losing assistant coach Fred Hill to Big East rival Rutgers is something Villanova could wind up regretting. Hill was a productive recruiter for the Wildcats, who reached this year's Sweet 16 and will rank among next year's Final Four favorites. A Big East staff member says Hill will get a significant raise from Rutgers, pushing his salary into six figures.

Newly crowned champion Roy Williams promised to get in some golf immediately after the Final Four, and he delivered. But don't worry about him relaxing just because he finally got his national title. He also hit the recruiting road hard, scouting four top national prospects for North Carolina before the week was out: 6-10 PF Kevin Durant and 5-11 PG Tywon Lawson of Virginia's Oak Hill Academy; 6-4 SG Wayne Ellington of Merion, Pa.; and 6-9 SF Wayne Ellington of of Memphis. Williams continues to rank among the hardest-working head coaches in recruiting. He has a little more to sell now.