North Carolina State University Athletics
Haynes' World: No More Rough Stuff
7/2/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 2, 2001
By Tony Haynes
Shortly after his team's 88-81 loss at Virginia last January, NC State men's basketball coach Herb Sendek was nearly speechless. Coming up short in a game in which his club led for 32 of the 40 minutes was disappointing enough, but what puzzled Sendek more than anything else was HOW that lead had slipped away.
With just under 14 minutes to play, four Wolfpack starters had already been whistled for four fouls. And by the time a very close game had reached the one-minute mark, Cliff Crawford, Damien Wilkins, Damon Thornton and Kenny Inge had all been exiled to the bench with five fouls apiece.
If there had been any doubts about the NCAA's crackdown on rough post-play and hand checking, they were laid to rest that night in Charlottesville.
Over the next few days in practice, Sendek and his staff would call fouls on even the slightest touches in an effort to illustrate to the players just how the rules were changing.
Get ready for more of the same next season.
During its meetings earlier this summer, the NCAA Rules Committee concluded that it would be prudent to continue the emphasis on rough play in 2001-02.
"The emphasis on eliminating rough play was most effective in the early part of last season but that emphasis did not continue throughout the season to the level that we would have liked," said Kansas head coach Roy Williams, chair of the men's committee. "We knew this would be more than a one-year process. This year, we would like to aim for consistency from the beginning of the season to the end, with particular attention to inside play, where we thought last year's emphasis was least effectively called."
If officials stick to their guns and make a real effort to eliminate the act of "rooting out" by post defenders, then big, strong post players like Maryland's Lonny Baxter will be difficult to stop unless they are double-teamed.
And versatile perimeter players that are quick off the dribble will also derive great benefits if a crackdown on hand checking is maintained on a consistent basis.
Aside from a continued emphasis on rough play, the committee will also take a close look at some experimental rules that will be used in exempted contests that occur before January 1, 2002:
*The free throw and three-second lane will be widened to match the NBA free throw and three-second lane. Current NCAA rules regarding number of players permitted on the lane during free throws and positioning on the block will remain in effect.
*No free throws will be awarded to the offended team for a foul committed by a member of a team in control of the ball. Instead, the offended team will be awarded possession of the ball at a designated spot.
*Jump balls will be held at the center circle for all situations in which the alternating-possession arrow was used. Any two players can jump, except for a held ball and when the ball is simultaneously caused to go out of bounds. In those cases, the two players ruled to have caused the dead ball would jump.
