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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Take 10: Things we’d change about the state tournament
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As we move through the second round of the state tournament, all seems right in the basketball world. But sitting in our little Take Ten paradise, we couldn’t help but try to bring you down from your postseason high. So here we are with our top 10 things we would change about Georgia high school basketball if we were named the grand ruler. And we’re fully expecting that day to one day come.
10. Get rid of “intentional” fouls There’s no reason for “intentional” fouls to be against the rules. It’s not like players don’t do it anyway at certain times. Let’s take it off the rule books. If the foul is too violent, go ahead and punish it. But allowing officials to read minds and determine intent doesn’t sit too well with us.
9. Dump the possession arrow No more jump balls going to whatever team the arrow points to. If somebody can make a good play and tie his opponent up, he should get a shot at the basketball if he can outfight him for it. Have a jump ball right there where they stand. Whoever wants it more gets it.
8. Give officials monitors to use At least in the finals, if not sooner, officials should have the ability to check with a courtside monitor to confirm how much time should be on the clock … or if a player got the shot off before the buzzer and if a shot is a 2- or a 3-pointer. Just like in college and the NBA.
7. Put your opponent in the bonus Instead of forcing trailing teams to commit several late fouls to get their opponent up to seven fouls and into a bonus free-throw situation, a coach should be able to go to the officials at any time and put his or her opponent into the bonus immediately. It might save time and quicken the inevitable.
6. Eliminate the double bonus While you’re messing with the bonus, let’s get rid of the double as well. It would make it tougher to hold onto late leads and put an added emphasis on free-throw shooting. If you can’t make that first free throw, you don’t get a second one when you’re trying to stay out in front of your opponent. It would also make “Hack-a-Shaq” a more viable option.
5. All-class tourney Even if it were just an exhibition, they should re-seed 12 or so of the best teams after the regular state tournaments and give fans a chance to see how their team stacks up against the rest of the state. Maybe we could have our own “Hoosiers” story.
4. No home games in state tournament Or at least none after the first round. Putting both of the first two rounds at home creates a pretty significant disadvantage for some visitors and makes it very difficult for fans to follow. They should go to neutral sites by the second round at the latest.
3. Call charging correctly This isn’t a criticism of officials so much as it is a criticism toward basketball officiating on all levels. A defender should not have to fall on his back to draw a charge call. The defender should be able to maintain defensive position — on his feet — and still take a charge. Falling down should not be considered good defense.
2. Form committee to seed state tournament Each region champion and region tournament champ would get an automatic bid. The committee would then choose the rest of the 32-team field and seed them out. A good region could get five, six, seven or whatever number of teams, while a weak one might only get one. This would make the state tournament field deeper while making for better first-round matchups.
1. Shot clock We’ve got to get a shot clock. It’s maddening to see a leading team start to milk the clock down with three minutes left. This would be a top priority for our administration. Increase the pace of the game, force teams to run through their offense quickly and make them play the entire game, instead of running out the clock in the end.
Go on. Take Ten. Would these rules changes help the game? What would you change, if you had the chance? Put your grand ruler hat on and let us know.
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