Hey, college basketball fans! Are you ready for the most inconsistent call in the game to be called even more inconsistently?
Deadspin's Ben Cohen found the scoop on a potential rule change that would allow protection for players under the basket:
The Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Wednesday is expected to approve a rule change that would create a "no charge" zone for "help" defenders from the front of the rim to the front of the backboard.
Cool, huh? Just like the NBA, players driving against help-side defenders will get some aid under the basket in the form of a "no-charge" rule when they are in the arc under the basket.
Only problem: the NCAA won't be able to draw said arc on the court.
[NCAA Basketball Rules Committee Chairman Dick Hack] said that because of NCAA rules, it would have taken four years for the arc to go through all the proper channels and committees, before it could be permanently painted on all the floors.
"We were thinking, 'How can we add something that will be beneficial right away?'" Hack said.
Really? The NCAA appeared to get that eye-bending second three-point arc out there on the floor rather quickly. Or was it just that the process actually started in 2004 and we didn't see the results until last fall? And seriously -- four years?
Look, I'm all for an arc under the basket. But asking referees to draw an invisible line on the floor, when they are already, you know, trying to watch the play that's actually happening, is ludicrous. I'm also of the opinion that charges are over-called, and inconsistently called, on a frequent basis by NCAA refs. Is this really going to solve anything? I say no.
We haven't yet reached the everything's-a-charge mentality of the WCC officials (who welcome seasoned veteran Dave Libbey this fall!), but the Pac-10 is becoming dangerously close to becoming a flopper's league. [Speaking of which, remember Patty Mills' little stunt in the NIT?] This rule could curtail that to a certain extent, at least under the basket, but for the most part you'd just see it interpreted differently from game to game. Imagine being a post player like Aron Baynes, already being shoved around under the basket on defense, and now you have to worry about an invisible boundary under which you can no longer draw a charge. And good luck if you're DeAngelo Casto sliding over to help out. You've just committed a foul if you're considered to be in the "invisible arc", even if you really aren't.
As well intentioned as this rule is, just paint the stupid arc on the court. Are you really the same league that gave this the OK? (Best court ever, by the way)
Paint the arc. Stop awarding flops to guards at the top of the key, and be consistent. It can be done.