Three-point Madness
Just sitting here in Florida, thinking ahead to the upcoming season ...
Something to watch this year which will be really unique is the shift of the three-point line in college basketball. Yes my friends, it moves back from 19 feet, nine inches to 20 feet, nine inches. You say that a move of one foot doesn't mean much, but it is a positive.
That should help put the ball in the hands of legitimate three-point shooters. Guys like Davidson's Stephen Curry, players with phenomenal range, won't really be influenced by this change. It will eliminate some guys chucking up threes that shouldn't be shooting them.
An interesting sidebar to this story ... the women's game did not move its line. Therefore, there will be all kinds of lines on the court. It is going to be a circus; imagine the tough time the referees will have figuring out whether a player was behind the right three-point line! Are you kidding me, it is going to be chaos.
Obviously the lines will have to be different colors to distinguish the difference between the men's and women's rules. As Dick Enberg would say, oh my! Why can't there be uniformity? Instead there will be bedlam and it will be interesting to see how the zebras react to all of these lines on the court.
One good thing about the 20-9 line ... it will help the college game. It will open up the three-second area because defenses will have to extend out further. It creates more cutting and driving to the basket, for more of the beauty of the game.
I love the idea of pass, cut and go to the goal instead of standing there just firing up threes. Shot selection has become a nightmare for some clubs. Coaches have to make sure their teams are efficient offensively. It will come down to preparation and having the right guys using the three.
