The NCAA adopted the rules from the Men’s Basketball Rules Committee, chaired by St. Peter’s head coach John Dunne, for the 2013-14 season on June 18. Amongst the rule changes were a change to the block/charge rule, a tweak to the rules on contact with the elbow and late game monitor reviews in the second half and overtime.
Under the new block/charge rule change, a defensive player cannot move into the path of an offensive player who is already in his upward motion. Whether that be a move for a pass or a shot, if a defensive player moves in the path to draw a charge, it will be called a blocking foul.
When asking their reactions to the new rules, Niagara head coach Chris Casey said it will be interesting to see how the block/charge rule changes are enforced on the floor.
“I know that they said, you have to be in legal guarding position before the player starts into his shot. I think the previous rule was in legal guarding position before the player left the floor. So it’s going to be interesting to see how they interpret into the shot,” Casey said. “You’re going to have a feel for that as a coach now you just have to be even better defensively and get to spots on the floor quicker is basically what you’ll have to do if you coach charges, trying to pick up charges and get good defensive position. You’re going to have to move quicker and take the question out of the call.”
Rider head coach Kevin Baggett said that some refs are charge happier than others and that it will be interesting to see if they can keep the rule consistent.
“You know what they can’t get that one right to save their lives, under the basket one, if you’re in the circle that’s fine and now if the guy flies under you. They’re never consistent on it,” Baggett said. “Not consistent on dislodging in the post, where the guy backs you down, I just think the one thing the refs do and the NCAA do early on is they emphasize it, but as the year goes on it gets more and more inconsistent. I don’t know I guess you just adjust to the rules as they come out but the one charge rule or block rule I just think they struggle to get that one right and to me it’s just an opinion of the ref at that particular time.”
Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello said he hopes the rule helps, but the enforcement on rule changes sometimes disappears as teams get further into the season.
“It doesn’t always necessarily translate that way into actual games,” Masiello said of the changes. “I hope it does, but I’m a guy who always wants to see the defense rewarded so as much as I want to get our offense going. I want our defense to be rewarded and I don’t want to be punished for being a good defensive team. I think some of these rules can sometimes do that to you so I understand that. Nobody wants to see more points on the board than me and those type of things, but I also want to reward good defensive teams.”
Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson said he feels that offense needs to be protected more and that the block/charge rule will help getting more offense in the game after a year that saw scoring drop to some of its lowest levels.
“I do think offense needs to be protected a lot more,” Johnson said. “You see it over in Europe, they protect the offense so much more and so those guys score. If the block/charge, tightening that up to protect guys with the ball, you might see a few more points on the board. I don’t think the shot clock has anything to do with it, I think it has solely to do with defenses being so aggressive and offensive players not being protected.”
Other rule changes include a rule change on elbow contact above the shoulders, hoping that there will be less flagrant fouls called because of elbow plays next season. The other substantial rule change is that officials will be allowed to use monitors to review in the last two minutes of regulation on deflections, shots and the clock.
“The monitor rule is going to result in more stoppage in play, which I think distrputs the flow of the game, but I think at the same time with the way the game is now with so many different angle replays on TV I know the referees want to get it right,” Casey said. “It is most important to get it right, might disrupt flow a little bit, but I think you have to weigh the two outcomes and say well the good outweighs the bad in doing it but a couple of drawbacks but in the end you get the call right which is most important.”
Baggett said that with all the stoppages that take place in the final minutes of the game, the new rule will extend games even longer.
“All the stoppages and everything they’re like timeouts now,” Baggett said. “You’ve made the game even longer. I just adjust and try to figure it out as it goes. I do like the fact that they have a monitor for the most part, I don’t mind that, but it’s taking too long. If you got ‘x’ amount of seconds or what have you let’s make sure we stick to that and guys back out on the court and playing the game.”
Johnson said that the reviews will help because every possession has become so valuable in late game situations.
“I think it’s becoming that type of game where every possession is so important and valuable,” Johnson said. “It’s always been that way, but men’s college basketball is off the charts in terms of how competitive it is. There’s so many good teams so I think it comes down to possessions being so important so I think that’s a positive.”
Ryan Restivo covers the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanarestivo.
NYC Buckets Archive 