Keating, Self head to meetings
Bill Self won’t be the only member of Kansas University’s athletic department attending a batch of meetings Final Four weekend in Atlanta.
As head of the NCAA men’s basketball rules committee, KU senior associate athletic director Larry Keating will make appearances at National Association of Basketball Coaches gatherings involving NCAA Div. I, II and III coaches.
There will be discussion of a questionnaire sent to all coaches about possible rule changes, including the expanding of the lane and extension of the three-point line.
The rules committee in May will, once and for all, decide whether the line will be extended from 19-feet, 9-inches to 20-6 or 20-9 and whether the lane will be widened a foot on each side.
“They’ve been on the agenda the last three years. It’s coming to a head,” Keating said of the two issues. “We’ve spent enough time experimenting and surveying. It’s time to do something or decide we are not going to do anything.”
Keating said a year ago there “was significant positive vote to do something in all divisions (with the three-point line). I’ve not seen results of the questionnaire yet this year.”
Experimentation the past few seasons has indicated that moving the three-point line to 20-6, the same distance that is used internationally, or 20-9, would make little to no difference in the shooting percentages as compared to the line at 19-9.
Data has demonstrated that the widened lane would not change the balance of rebounding after a missed free throw.
“Our purpose in considering court changes is about considering the physical characteristics of the players playing the present game,” Keating said. “It is unrealistic to widen the court or to lengthen the court. We can widen the lane and extend the three-point line to allow our players, who are bigger and stronger than ever, more room to maneuver.
“The future may or may not include a wider lane or longer three-point line. The door is not closed on this issue.”
KU coach Bill Self said he didn’t think college basketball needed significant rule changes.
“I think it’s a much better game now than it used to be,” Self said. “Take the shot clock ... I remember people would stall the ball 10 minutes at a time. You’d see a half it was 10-8, people with packed-in defenses. The three-point line is about spreading the floor. I love the clock and three-point line. I hope they don’t move it back.”
Of the widened lane, Self said: “Some say if you widen the lane, it will make post play less rough. I think if you widen the lane there will be more pushing and shoving because there will be less incentive to do anything but play behind the post.”
Self this weekend will attend NCAA ethics committee, NABC board and USA Basketball committee meetings.
• Banquet sold out: Kansas University’s men’s basketball banquet, which is set for Tuesday, April 10, at the Holiday Inn Holidome Convention Center, is sold out.
The banquet, which will begin with a social hour from 6 to 7 p.m., with a meal to follow as well as presentation of team awards, is for Williams Fund members, who quickly gobbled up the 600 available seats after receiving a mailer this week.
Self wanted a return to a format in which the players, coaches and their families break bread with the fans before the presentation of awards.
A meal was served for many years of the Roy Williams era. During the final years of his tenure and Self’s first three seasons at KU, the players dined on their own, then gathered for an awards ceremony in front of the public at either the Lied Center or Kansas Union.
“I think this clearly shows how appreciative our season ticket holders are of the great season we had and how anxious they are to show appreciation for the season,” KU associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said of the sellout.
• Recruiting update: Xavier Henry, a 6-6 junior guard from Putnam City High in Oklahoma City, who averaged 23 points and eight rebounds a game last season has a top three of KU, North Carolina and Memphis. He’s also being recruited by Oklahoma State, Texas, Duke, Florida, Georgia Tech and others.
“My family and I will sit down when the time is right and make my decision," Xavier Henry, the son of former KU guard Carl Henry, told rivals.com. “I will base a lot of my decision on the style. I want to play for a school that fits my style. I like to get up and down the court. That’s why I have so much interest in Kansas, North Carolina and Memphis,” he added. “I like how those schools get up and down the court. Those schools fit my style of play the best.”
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