Coaches are downplaying new shot clock rule and have good reason

by:Courtney Hessler06/02/15
ncaaLOGO_20120307044517_640_480 Yesterday coaches from some of the biggest programs in America got together to play a little golf. Several interviews have been released over the past two days, including the coaches’ thoughts on the new shot clock recommendation made by the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee. While the recommendation still has to be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Committee, coaches don’t think it will make a difference anyways. According to Coach Cal, to under the little affect it will have on the game you have to look at the KenPom rankings.
"Let's just talk [the team whose name we are not allowed to say]. They were one of the slower teams, their efficiency was really good, so they scored on a high percentage; they were a good defensive team. But their average seconds per possession, and they were one of the slowest teams, 22 seconds. And if they're the slowest team, you could go to the 24-second clock and it would be fine."
It seems like while the new rule wouldn’t change college basketball overall, it would most likely create some interesting in-game scenarios that would be more for the fans’ excitement more than anything. The shot clock was tested in all post-season tournaments last season (except for the NCAA tournament) and Ken Pom said scoring was 5.6 ppg on average more than the NCAA tournament. If this happened in the regular season, it would boost the scoring to the highest since 2003. Still. Five extra points a game doesn’t seem that much more exciting. Maybe that’s why all the other coaches, including Roy Williams and Tom Izzo among others, agreed with Calipari to shorten the clock to NBA standards. It will be interesting to see how the change will play out during an actual season and not just in a controlled tested environment. (h/t Ken Pomeroy) (h/t AP Sports) @Hessler_KSR

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