It’s no secret that Coach Tom Izzo is not always fond of the NCAA. Izzo made some candid comments during Thursday’s Big Ten Basketball Media Day about the new rule changes coming this year. The main point he stressed was how college basketball should try to be more like the NBA, a point of contention among basketball officials.
“If it were up to me, if I was the Czar for the day, I’d try to get every rule like the NBA, personally,” said Izzo. “I just think that we’d have a better working relationship. It would make sense to me…I think you always hear, ‘Well, you don’t want to be like the NBA.’ Why not? That’s what the kids want. And so I do think — you know, it’s interesting.”
Among the new rule changes this year include a shorter 30-second shot clock, a larger restricted area inside the paint for taking charges and the elimination of the five-second rule.
“The new five-second call, I think, I’m great with because I think it’s a touchy call,” said Izzo. “Is he six feet away, is he four feet away? You know, take those decisions out of the zebras’ hands, and I think it’s going to be better for our game.”
The goal of the shorter shot clock is to hopefully speed up play and increase possessions, which would theoretically lead to more points. Scoring has been declining in recent years and the pace of play is grinding to a crawl. In two of the last three years, scoring dipped below 68 points per game in Division I, the lowest mark since 1982, according to the NCAA.
Another rule change the NCAA is experimenting with is four ten-minute quarters instead of two 20-minute halves. The womens teams will be playing with it for the first time this year and if it’s successful, the change could come to the men’s game.
“I mean, I love some of the NBA rules, personally,” said Izzo. “And we’ve got them now where you can’t touch anybody out in the perimeter and they can’t touch anybody out in the perimeter. So do I see it going that way? I don’t know. It’s up to other people than me. I said what I’d like, that was just personal opinion.”
