...To grow women’s basketball ... shrink it.

[Gator]

"The sport needs to be overhauled with major rules changes that would create an entirely new look, a far more exciting game. Lower the hoop from 10 feet to nine feet, shorten the court from 94 feet to 80 feet and cut back the halves to 15 minutes from 20 minutes. Men are taller, jump higher and run faster than women, so as long as women play the same game by the same rules, they always will come up short when compared. So invent a new game that better suits the bodies of the athletes who play it."

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2009/feb/16/lower-womens-standards/

mmmmmmmm- I'm tempted to get mad about this - I don't WANT the women's game to look like the men's game. I think dunks are highly overrated. But, it is an interesting discussion.

[CyRox98]

What a stupid idea.

[mred]

I think the ideas are completely idiotic from a sporting standpoint, but let's ignore those problems and look at the logistical ones:

Lower the hoop from 10 feet to nine feet, shorten the court from 94 feet to 80 feet

When men and women share a gym, how do you implement this?

[carolann]

:mad: So, lengthen the court for the men and raise the basket so they actually have to shoot the ball as I think may have been intended when the game was invented!

[35TangoTango]

Once again, I'm reminded of that popular quote, "If I ever need a brain transplant, give me a sportswriter's brain because I want one that's never been used".

Even this author knows that it's not practical to build separate floors and arenas for WBB. This is just a chance for a testosterone-laden slap at the women's game. He's of course also rating all WBB attendance by that in Lawrence. We see the figures elsewhere in the Big 12 and know better. I agree with Gator that the last thing we want is for the women's game to go the direction of the men's game. Actually, it's pretty disappointing for a sportswriter in the home of Naismith and Allen to rate the quality and popularity of the men's game just in terms of "throwing one down".

However, I have to admit that his idea in some ways parallels what I've been thinking for some time - and that's that the men's physical abilities have just outgrown the court. The men have moved the 3 point line back this year, not to make it harder to shoot, but in an effort to unclog the floor for drives to the basket. So let's not stop there. For the men, let's lengthen and widen the floor, and raise the basket to 12 feet. Then we can see men's basketball as it was meant to be played, and in the tradition that made Kansas a legend.

...and I see we have an idea that a Texas woman and an Okahoma man agree on!

[Gator]

:mad: So, lengthen the court for the men and raise the basket so they actually have to shoot the ball as I think may have been intended when the game was invented!

LOL - I didn't notice if there was a way to comment on the column - if there is - you should post yours!



However, I have to admit that his idea in some ways parallels what I've been thinking for some time - and that's that the men's physical abilities have just outgrown the court.

That says, much better, what I have been thinking. When I watch a men's game, one of the reason I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy the women's, is that the court always seems clogged with bodies!

[MsProudSooner]

That says, much better, what I have been thinking. When I watch a men's game, one of the reason I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy the women's, is that the court always seems clogged with bodies!

I've felt this way about the NBA for a long time.

[36Cord810]

Dumb. If it is properly called, which often it is not, it is already a much different game than the men's game.

[ChipperF1]

"the men's physical abilities have just outgrown the court. The men have moved the 3 point line back this year, not to make it harder to shoot, but in an effort to unclog the floor for drives to the basket. So let's not stop there. For the men, let's lengthen and widen the floor, and raise the basket to 12 feet. Then we can see men's basketball as it was meant to be played, and in the tradition that made Kansas a legend.

Actually, the best way to unclog the lane? Make it a trapezoidal one.

The FIBA rulebook should be implemented as the rulebook at every level of American basketball.

The last Olympics showed and proved that the flare and style can coexist with the fundamentals. I do not agree with the concept of "men's basketball as it was mean to be played." and the fun, style, athleticism and power that has come into it as being enemies. I find such criticisms to be tinged in some negative vinegar brewed from other issues in some ways. I do agree that the men's game could use a little tweaking.

As far as this particular idea. I think what womens basketball really needs is more players to keep developing and keep playing. It also needs a good dose of realism. The "problem" of people not showing up doesn't have nearly as much to do with the game as with the simple fact that the stereotypical sports "fan" (i.e. your 21-45 year old "guy") just doesn't jibe with womens sports in general. And for them to do so, will take a fundamental shift in the way our society sees women. Now there are plenty of men just see sport as sport and like a good ballgame no matter who is playing, but the majority of sportswriters aren't writing to that audience.

Most of these people who say they have an idea to "help" are the same people who would then rip the sport when it was implemented saying it was a "cheap imitation of the real game".

When I read stuff like this it makes me wonder what kind of world we live in when tripe like this can get printed and a newspaper can lay somebody like Mechelle Voepel off.

[tx4OU]

As I commented on one of the Sooner boards, the only thing that needs to be changed with the women's game, IMO, is to implement the men's shot clock and add the 10 second halfcourt rule. Right now, not having the 10 second halfcourt rule doesn't reward good/great defensive pressure through drawn up presses by many great coaches in the women's game. I think this would really change the game and make it more exciting. It would also force better ball handling (dribbling and passing) which would only strengthen everyone's already made comments of why they love the women's game over the men's.....fundamentals.

BTW, I still love the men's game too. Last night I watched a great men's game with Pitt upsetting #1 UConn on the Huskies' court. Great clutch shooting by Pitt. They also worked the ball inside and challenged the 7'3" Thebiet (sp?). It also exposed UConn's poor FT shooting. That game should have either been won or sent into OT by UConn if they had just hit their FTs down the stretch.

Oh, and we switched back and forth to catch the women's game between Duke & Tenn. Another poor display of FT shooting by both teams. Boy Duke has improved. They got every loose ball and scrapped for critical rebounds. Still Tenn. had a chance to win towards the end, b/c of Duke's poor FT shooting. However, they obviously didn't, b/c they suffered from the same problem. Will be interesting to see how these teams do in the Dance if they can't hit their FTs.