From (an extra foot) down town
With the NBA Finals set to tip off Thursday night, I find myself in a basketball kind-of-mood today. Case in point: I went to the gym and launched jumpshots for a solid hour. While I felt like I was dying at the end, I also felt accomplished, as it was my first physical activity in quite some time. Hey, I’m in college.
My favorite sport was always, and still is, basketball. I played all throughout middle and high school. I was never the fastest guy on the floor, nor could I jump very high at all. But man oh man, could I shoot (a snapshot of myself dominating The Ithacan’s new editor-in-chief in a game of knockout). Surprisingly enough, my shot still remains intact. But as I bombed away shots from the three-point line today, I began thinking about the NCAA’s latest change to the dimensions of the college basketball court.
About two weeks ago, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a proposal by the Men’s Basketball Rules Committee to move the three-point line back a full foot (from 19 feet, 9 inches to 20 feet, 9 inches). This will go into effect the 2008-2009 season (the year after next year).
Being a long-range specialist myself, I can speculate (with good reason) that this will really affect a lot of three-point shooters at all levels of collegiate basketball. Players will have played throughout high school (which will remain at 19 feet, 9 inches), and will then have to account for an extra foot of distance. And while a foot doesn’t sound like much, it is more than enough to throw a shot off. I predict a sharp decline in three-point field goal percentage two years from now. Maybe to account for the extra foot, the NCAA could widen the basket by 6 to 12 inches. Yeah, I could live with that.
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Feed for Hat Trick
Alright, I have to defend myself. Andrews shot was pretty on, but I was the one who WON that game (and the next five afterward).
An interesting NCAA decision. The decline in 3pt percentage could affect recruitment if their stats go down. More HS, less college players? Who knows. We’ll see.