Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Monday, September 26, 2005

The NCAA has announced rule changes, points of emphasis, and experiments for the coming season. A brief summary can be found in this PDF press release, and a fuller description can be found at the beginning of the 2005-06 Rule Book (also PDF).

Rule Changes:

1. Kicked balls. On a kicked ball, if there are fewer than 15 seconds remaining on the shot clock, the shot clock will only reset to 15. This makes the NCAA rules start to conform a little more to the pros.

2. Disqualification substitutions. When a player fouls out, a team will only have 20 seconds (formerly 30) to replace her. This is to prevent coaches from using that time as a de facto timeout.

3. Monitors. There are several changes to the rules governing the refs' use of courtside monitors. One change to Rule 2-5 will allow refs to put time back on the clock after using the monitor to determine when a foul was committed or when a shot passed through the cylinder. Interestingly, the new rules still won't fix the problem we saw in the 'Bama-LSU game last year.

Points of Emphasis:

1. Displacement. The Rules Committee has attempted (again) to clarify what counts as a foul through a series of norms on "displacement." There are specific guidelines set forth for guarding in the post, guarding on the perimeter, guarding cutters, rebounding, and screening.

It doesn't appear that the Committee is trying to tighten or loosen anything; rather, they're just trying to state the existing rules more clearly.

2. Bench Decorum. The Committee has directed the refs to call more technicals and listed several specific areas of emphasis. A variety of conduct -- including "excessively demonstrating officiating signals" such as traveling -- is supposed to draw a technical.

Somewhat ridiculously, the Committee has also ordered that players and assistant coaches must remain seated during the game. There is an exception made for "spontaneous" celebrations in reaction to "outstanding plays," so long as the player returns to her seat "immediately."

I can imagine it now: "Technical foul on the bench player who stood up and cheered that free throw. A completed free throw is not an outstanding play. Plus, you didn't sit down fast enough."

Experiments:

The NCAA will test two new rules in certified games played before January 1: the longer (20' 6") three-point line, and the 10-second backcourt violation.