A foot. It’s not to be confused with the appendage many creatures use for mobility. Rather, it’s the unit of measurement that we as society use to measure a plethora of diverse dimensions.
College basketball has decided to scoot back its 3-point line from 19 feet 9 inches to 20 feet 9 inches–a mere foot. But as we know in sports, inches do, in fact, matter. With this sudden expansion of the collegiate game comes new challenges.
As most know, college basketball is often considered a defensive battle in comparison to the NBA. Next season’s expansion will undoubtably open up driving lanes and encourage a more open style of play. Those soft-shooting collegiate big men will be forced to play more of an interior role in the game rather than looking like Mehmet Okur, launching 3-pointers from all angles.
No more Michael Beasleys or Kosta Koufos knocking down treys from about 20 feet out. I can almost swear I even saw gentle-giant Roy Hibbert even knock down a three or two-that just looked blasphemous.
The move back will also bring speed to the collegiate game. Most college guards, and even some forwards, are tremendously fleet-footed, but have had to deal with clogged lanes on account of the closeness of the lane to the 3-point line-until now.
With downtown now stretched by an extra foot, collegiate players will chance to get a taste of what it feels like to play with a larger amount of room.
I had the pleasure of recently attending a Rocky Mountain Revue game and obviously there were two lines surrounding the key. I had never noticed how close the current collegiate 3-point line is to the basket. It looked as if I could step out onto the court and pull my best Stephen Curry impersonation and get away with it-which shouldn’t be possible.
This is a step forward for college basketball. So many of the flashy, incoming freshmen are using their one year at college as a glorified, elongated tryout. But don’t rest the blame upon those of Herculean-talent. The college basketball system has more flaws than the run-of-the-mill Victoria’s Secret model.
This one foot move should mean a lot to the college game. For those thousands of dreamers who actually have the blessing to play college basketball-they should be able to become accustomed to what the “show” feels like. There will be more room for spread-out, ducking-diving offenses rather than the archetypal drive, pitch and shoot that we as viewers have become so accustomed to.
Some teams already run like an NBA team, like Roy Williams’ North Carolina or Bill Self’s national champion Kansas Jayhawks.
The other benefit to moving the line back is the college game will automatically get more exciting. Three-point percentages will go down and long rebounds will go up, which can only equal one thing: more fast breaks. No more passing it three times before a shot goes up on every possession. The college game will ultimately benefit from the modified 3-point line.
Lucas Isley