I will be leaving the house shortly so for now I'll just post this from ESPN Insider.
Nothing in the article is the least bit surprising as asking college coaches to give back timeouts is like asking a bank robber to return some of his stolen money.
Coaches poll: Should TO rules change?
February, 25, 2015
By Jeff Goodman | ESPN Insider
AP Photo/Stephen Lance DenneeTimeouts are an important part of college hoops strategy -- but are there too many?
Nobody understands how painfully long the final minutes of college basketball games have become better than my 11-year-old daughter. There's a minute left on the game clock when I tell her I'll be right up to say goodnight.
By the time the horn finally sounds, 20 minutes and multiple timeouts later, she has already fallen asleep.
College basketball has eight automatic timeouts built into the game, and that's before any coach makes the unmistakable "T" sign with his hands. There are four media timeouts (at the under-16, -12, -8 and -4 minute marks) in each half. The first time a coach calls a timeout in the second half -- whether it comes at the 19:50 mark or the 2:00 mark -- it becomes a full media timeout. That's nine 60-second timeouts that are basically automatic in every game. Each team gets one 60-second timeout and four 30-second timeouts per game, and can carry over a maximum of three 30-second timeouts into the second half, which creates a "use it or lose it" timeout in the first half (many coaches use it). Do the math and that's 18 possible timeouts in a 40-minute game that (theoretically) unfolds in two hours of real time. Does that seem like a lot to you?
Many pundits and fans have lamented the timeout situation, but what can be done? Are there alterations that make sense, can improve the watchability of those final moments while also preserving the on-floor strategy that coaches hold dear?
We polled more than 260 college coaches -- the people who are going to have to set the wheels in motion if there are fixes to be made -- to get their take on the situation. Their thoughts about reform to timeout rules were all over the map:
Keep the timeout rules status quo -- 117 votes (45 percent)
"It's hard to get people into our building and to watch games on TV, so why are we in such a rush to end the games so quickly? To me, it doesn't make a lot of sense. We've got all this money from the TV contracts; why do we want to get off the air so quick? It's not baseball, we're not on for 3½ hours. It's a two-hour game. It's really not that long." -- Minnesota coach Richard Pitino
Eliminate one timeout per side -- 51 votes (20 percent)
"One less so we can't overcoach." -- Notre Dame coach Mike Brey
Matt Cashore/USA TODAY SportsNotre Dame coach Mike Brey would be in favor of eliminating a timeout each game.
Eliminate one or two of the media timeouts per half -- 19 votes (7 percent)
"I think the game is more enjoyable to watch as it is free-flowing. As a player -- I actually was one, believe it or not -- it is much more fun to play. Less timeouts would emphasize skill and conditioning. The constant stoppage makes the game more like football. Coaches have much more influence and there is less opportunity for players to improvise. You would also see more teams pressing and mixing up defenses in my opinion. FIBA games are more fun for me to watch." -- Columbia coach Kyle Smith
Eliminate two timeouts per side -- 16 votes (6 percent)
"I believe with the media timeouts that three timeouts are plenty. I don't believe in messing with the game, so to speak. I do not like the 'use it or lose it' TO in the first half." -- Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood
Keep the same number of timeouts, but allow teams to advance the ball to half court when you call a timeout in the backcourt (as the NBA does) -- 25 votes (10 percent)
"It would just allow for more strategy." -- Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams
Keep the same number of timeouts, but do not allow live-ball timeouts (which is the rule in international play) -- 15 votes (6 percent)
"They disrupt the flow of the game -- especially when they are called from the bench away from the action. No other sports allow the action to be interrupted while the ball is in play. The international game has survived and thrived without live-ball timeouts. Our college game would also." -- Richmond coach Chris Mooney
Keep the same number of timeouts, but if you call a timeout within a certain number of seconds prior to a media timeout, it counts as a media timeout -- 12 votes (5 percent)
"I don't think every timeout should count as media, but some should. Maybe two a half. You look at the game now and if you use every timeout and every timeout each team is allotted, that's 18 a game. It would speed the game up. Plus, it would make the game closer to the NBA. It would also be another way to create more scoring. Coaches would have to use their TOs more wisely." -- Rider assistant Donyell Marshall
Keep the same number of timeouts, but shorten the length of the media timeouts -- 6 votes (2 percent)
"Media or TV timeouts really slow the game and can change momentum. I believe in quick, short thoughts to give my team before heading back on the court. The extended timeouts give my guys too much to think about." -- Yale coach James Jones
Although there is nothing resembling consensus on what -- if any -- changes should be made to timeout rules, here is the process that would have to take place for a change to be made (identical to the process for shortening the shot clock):
May 13-15: The 13-member men's basketball rules committee, chaired by Belmont coach Rick Byrd, will meet at the NCAA office in Indianapolis. The committee features four D-I head coaches (Byrd, Akron's Keith Dambrot, Fairfield's Sydney Johnson and Long Island-Brooklyn's Jack Perri) along with non-D-I head coaches, athletic directors and also NCAA secretary rules editor Art Hyland. This committee will receive feedback from coaches and subsequently discuss potential rules changes with the men's basketball selection committee and the NABC committee board.
June 24 : If the rules committee decides to recommend changes to timeout rules, the matter would go in front of the playing rules oversight panel (PROP) during a conference call. This panel also takes into account legal and financial implications of any alteration. The panel is chaired by Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, and includes a mix of conference commissioners and athletic directors. If the rule is passed by both the men's basketball rules committee and the PROP, it will go into effect for next season.
How would you change the timeout rules?
Nothing in the article is the least bit surprising as asking college coaches to give back timeouts is like asking a bank robber to return some of his stolen money.
Coaches poll: Should TO rules change?
February, 25, 2015
By Jeff Goodman | ESPN Insider
AP Photo/Stephen Lance DenneeTimeouts are an important part of college hoops strategy -- but are there too many?
Nobody understands how painfully long the final minutes of college basketball games have become better than my 11-year-old daughter. There's a minute left on the game clock when I tell her I'll be right up to say goodnight.
By the time the horn finally sounds, 20 minutes and multiple timeouts later, she has already fallen asleep.
College basketball has eight automatic timeouts built into the game, and that's before any coach makes the unmistakable "T" sign with his hands. There are four media timeouts (at the under-16, -12, -8 and -4 minute marks) in each half. The first time a coach calls a timeout in the second half -- whether it comes at the 19:50 mark or the 2:00 mark -- it becomes a full media timeout. That's nine 60-second timeouts that are basically automatic in every game. Each team gets one 60-second timeout and four 30-second timeouts per game, and can carry over a maximum of three 30-second timeouts into the second half, which creates a "use it or lose it" timeout in the first half (many coaches use it). Do the math and that's 18 possible timeouts in a 40-minute game that (theoretically) unfolds in two hours of real time. Does that seem like a lot to you?
Many pundits and fans have lamented the timeout situation, but what can be done? Are there alterations that make sense, can improve the watchability of those final moments while also preserving the on-floor strategy that coaches hold dear?
We polled more than 260 college coaches -- the people who are going to have to set the wheels in motion if there are fixes to be made -- to get their take on the situation. Their thoughts about reform to timeout rules were all over the map:
Keep the timeout rules status quo -- 117 votes (45 percent)
"It's hard to get people into our building and to watch games on TV, so why are we in such a rush to end the games so quickly? To me, it doesn't make a lot of sense. We've got all this money from the TV contracts; why do we want to get off the air so quick? It's not baseball, we're not on for 3½ hours. It's a two-hour game. It's really not that long." -- Minnesota coach Richard Pitino
Eliminate one timeout per side -- 51 votes (20 percent)
"One less so we can't overcoach." -- Notre Dame coach Mike Brey
Matt Cashore/USA TODAY SportsNotre Dame coach Mike Brey would be in favor of eliminating a timeout each game.
Eliminate one or two of the media timeouts per half -- 19 votes (7 percent)
"I think the game is more enjoyable to watch as it is free-flowing. As a player -- I actually was one, believe it or not -- it is much more fun to play. Less timeouts would emphasize skill and conditioning. The constant stoppage makes the game more like football. Coaches have much more influence and there is less opportunity for players to improvise. You would also see more teams pressing and mixing up defenses in my opinion. FIBA games are more fun for me to watch." -- Columbia coach Kyle Smith
Eliminate two timeouts per side -- 16 votes (6 percent)
"I believe with the media timeouts that three timeouts are plenty. I don't believe in messing with the game, so to speak. I do not like the 'use it or lose it' TO in the first half." -- Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood
Keep the same number of timeouts, but allow teams to advance the ball to half court when you call a timeout in the backcourt (as the NBA does) -- 25 votes (10 percent)
"It would just allow for more strategy." -- Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams
Keep the same number of timeouts, but do not allow live-ball timeouts (which is the rule in international play) -- 15 votes (6 percent)
"They disrupt the flow of the game -- especially when they are called from the bench away from the action. No other sports allow the action to be interrupted while the ball is in play. The international game has survived and thrived without live-ball timeouts. Our college game would also." -- Richmond coach Chris Mooney
Keep the same number of timeouts, but if you call a timeout within a certain number of seconds prior to a media timeout, it counts as a media timeout -- 12 votes (5 percent)
"I don't think every timeout should count as media, but some should. Maybe two a half. You look at the game now and if you use every timeout and every timeout each team is allotted, that's 18 a game. It would speed the game up. Plus, it would make the game closer to the NBA. It would also be another way to create more scoring. Coaches would have to use their TOs more wisely." -- Rider assistant Donyell Marshall
Keep the same number of timeouts, but shorten the length of the media timeouts -- 6 votes (2 percent)
"Media or TV timeouts really slow the game and can change momentum. I believe in quick, short thoughts to give my team before heading back on the court. The extended timeouts give my guys too much to think about." -- Yale coach James Jones
Although there is nothing resembling consensus on what -- if any -- changes should be made to timeout rules, here is the process that would have to take place for a change to be made (identical to the process for shortening the shot clock):
May 13-15: The 13-member men's basketball rules committee, chaired by Belmont coach Rick Byrd, will meet at the NCAA office in Indianapolis. The committee features four D-I head coaches (Byrd, Akron's Keith Dambrot, Fairfield's Sydney Johnson and Long Island-Brooklyn's Jack Perri) along with non-D-I head coaches, athletic directors and also NCAA secretary rules editor Art Hyland. This committee will receive feedback from coaches and subsequently discuss potential rules changes with the men's basketball selection committee and the NABC committee board.
June 24 : If the rules committee decides to recommend changes to timeout rules, the matter would go in front of the playing rules oversight panel (PROP) during a conference call. This panel also takes into account legal and financial implications of any alteration. The panel is chaired by Mid-American Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, and includes a mix of conference commissioners and athletic directors. If the rule is passed by both the men's basketball rules committee and the PROP, it will go into effect for next season.
How would you change the timeout rules?
