**** the NCAA

[wufan]

Our game was definitely an outlier. We had 5% more whistles than the second most whistled game. We had about 50% more than the median.

[Aargh]

So, are the players and coaches supposed to adjust to the new enforcement on a game by game basis, depending on the crew they get for the game?

[wufan]

So, are the players and coaches supposed to adjust to the new enforcement on a game by game basis, depending on the crew they get for the game?

Unfortunately, yes. The refs need time to adjust as well. Again, we were THE outlier on the bell curve. There will still be too many fouls called this year, but if everyone adjusts, it should stop the hand-checking, grabbing, and bull rushes. You will see a higher percentage of shots falling and will wonder if anyone knows how to play D anymore. Will it be better? I don't know.

[Kung Wu]

So, are the players and coaches supposed to adjust to the new enforcement on a game by game basis, depending on the crew they get for the game?

Really, all they need to do is have some nice long training with our graduates that had to play under the Valley officials from the 90's. What's old is new again.

[SHOXAAC]

Any college basketball team worth their weight in gold will set school records in FT attempts and hopefully makes this season.

[wufan]

Really, all they need to do is have some nice long training with our graduates that had to play under the Valley officials from the 90's. What's old is new again.

We were pretty physical under Smithson in the 90s. The days without offense!

[rrshock]

I think the shocks adjusted in the second half. Only 9 fouls is pretty normal. CSU did not however. Foul discrepancy always happened when one team was out manned. That is nothing new. Maybe the number of calls, but there will usually be a discrepancy in total fouls called in these matchups. If it happens again, I will be concerned. I think other posters are right by saying the officials were just terrible. And CSU is terrible too.

[shockerfanmas]

The new rules and points of emphasis will do nothing but help the game once everyone adjusts and gets used to it. Defense has always been meant to be played by moving your feet and not using your hands. The Shox adjusted pretty well on Friday night. It's very simple.... show your hands, move your feet, and you'll probably get away with some contact. If you have your hands all over the offensive player.. well, you're probably not gonna play much.

This will force teams to learn how to win without having to play overly physical, hands-on, mauling defense that is seen all over the game now. I for one love it. When I played, it was a finesse game. now it's all about physicality and power. Screw that, make teams play the right way. I'm all for it. I really could care less if I'm in the minority, I think this is one thing the NCAA has done right. Now we'll so how everybody adjusts.

Also, I guarantee you won't see any of the 3 officials the Shox had Friday night going very far into postseason play. Those guys were brutal and called a lot of stuff that didn't need to be called. You have to be able to let some contact go, and those guys Friday night were letting nothing go. I would be willing to bet that those kind of games will be the exception and not the rule.

[wu_shizzle]

Boxouts can't be fouls.

I'm all for freedom of movement, but you have to allow some physicality with loose balls.

[wufan]

Boxouts can't be fouls.

I'm all for freedom of movement, but you have to allow some physicality with loose balls.

Good call. You should be able to fight for position on the blocks and for the boards. Body contact needs to be allowed.

[sdshox]

If you've got 15 minutes to kill, here's the video available to the public on the changes from the new NCAA Coordinator of Officiating:

Note - the talk about reducing physical play starts around the 8 minute mark.

[shockerfanmas]

Boxouts can't be fouls.

I'm all for freedom of movement, but you have to allow some physicality with loose balls.

I agree with you 100%, and I'll go 1 step further and say you have to allow some physicality period, not just with loose balls. Basketball is still a contact sport, in a way. It can't be avoided.

Boxouts should not be fouls as long as they are legal boxouts. There's a difference between a legal and illegal boxout. It shouldn't be hard for most officials to notice the difference, but sometimes it seems to be.

My POV comes from both the officiating and coaching of basketball, so I've seen both sides. I know how frustrating it is when officials catch flack because fans and even sometimes coaches don't know and understand the rules, and I know how frustrating it is when officials don't do their jobs properly. Despite most of my arguments on here, I've seen some pretty lousy officiating at every level.

[ShockdaWorld]

I think the fouls I hated the most at the game Friday were when someone was boxing out, and the player behind them jumped straight up while the player boxing out continued to move backwards. The player being boxed out was called for the foul. Yuck. I hope you are right and that the majority of officials won't be like the hacks they sent in here Friday night. I am also a fan of the enforcement and changing of the rules. I just hope the officials can find some consistency that doesn't change with every game.

[shockerfanmas]

I think the fouls I hated the most at the game Friday were when someone was boxing out, and the player behind them jumped straight up while the player boxing out continued to move backwards. The player being boxed out was called for the foul. Yuck. I hope you are right and that the majority of officials won't be like the hacks they sent in here Friday night. I am also a fan of the enforcement and changing of the rules. I just hope the officials can find some consistency that doesn't change with every game.

You are holding your breath on that one. No matter how universal it should be, every official is going to see a play a little differently. You will never, ever, see every single official in any sports call a game the same way. Just like in baseball, where every umpire has a different strike zone, in basketball, every striped shirt has a different opinion of how much contact they'll allow before it becomes a foul. It's just part of the game and something that everybody has to get used to. Ideally, all officials would at least be very close in the way they called a game.

Whether people like it or not, it is up to the players and the coaches to adjust to how a game is being called, not the other way around.

Regardless, I will agree those guys we had Friday not were ridiculously overofficiating. And that's being nice.

[moshock]

I get the hands off approach but it's easy to say and **** near impossible to do when you are trying to keep space between you and your opponent. I'm not talking about grabbing or holding - just putting your hand on someone.