King of Basketball

If I was the king of basketball I would change the rules to make a 4 point line.  Somewhere between the 3 point line and half-court I would make a 4-point line.  Having a 4 point line would have more exciting games and would have players become better outside shooters.  Even though it would be a very difficult shot I think it would make the game very entertaining.  Also, I think kids would enjoy basketball more if they could make a 4 point shot.  Even some coaches and owners think a 4 point line would be an exciting aspect to the game.  Phil Jackson, longtime coach and owner, had something things to say about the 4 point line.  "So, Jackson's a purist, but he's a purist who would be fine with a 4-point line. How fascinating. He's always been a guy who places emphasis on versatility and skill with the basketball, and he values ball movement over one-on-one play. The game has moved in that direction, but away from the post-ups and midrange jumpers that were so prevalent when he coached the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers."  Basketball would definitely change a lot with a 4 point line and I think that's the main reason against it.  Although the game would never be the same, I think it would increase a lot of attention to the sport and gain younger athletes to start playing basketball  

Youth Basketball

Youth basketball is all about AAU.  AAU is looked at as a more competitive type of basketball and it is supposed to get you more college exposure. Last week was the McDonald's All-American Game, where the top 48 college recruits play in a game.  Each of those 48 kids all played and may still play AAU basketball.  AAU basketball teams play in, what is known as a showcase tournament where they play in a tournament where colleges will attend.  This gives kids a great chance to get their name out their and be recruited.  For instance the #1 prospect in the country, Ben Simmons, an LSU commit, got noticed at the 2012 Pangos Camp, which is a very large showcase camp that gained him national attention.  AAU basketball gives kids great attention and good competition but do the kids gain skill and work on fundamentals?  Most coaches expect the kids to have good skills and fundamentals.  With that being said the coaches do not necessarily stress basic fundamentals and growth of skills and only care about getting the athletes exposed to college coaches.  Having coaches only focus on college and playing at the next level is not always a bad thing but I think if parents are paying a good amount of money they would want their kid to be trained and become a better player not just doing showcases and tournaments.  Kobe Bryant even went on to say things about AAU basketball.  “I just think European players are just way more skillful,” Bryant said Friday Night. “They are just taught the game the right way at an early age. … They’re more skillful. It’s something we really have to fix. We really have to address that. We have to teach our kids to play the right way.”  The main culprit, Bryant believes, is AAU basketball:  “AAU basketball,” Bryant said. “Horrible, terrible AAU basketball. It’s stupid. It doesn’t teach our kids how to play the game at all so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don’t know how to post. They don’t know the fundamentals of the game. It’s stupid.”  In my opinion Kobe is exactly right,  AAU basketball players are not taught the basic fundamentals of the game.

Rule Change NCAA

A rule the NCAA should change is having the referees be able to check the instant replay monitor whenever they want.  In this years Round of 64 in the NCAA tournament SMU played UCLA.  UCLA won off of an air balled three pointer that was called as goal tending.  They called goal tending with 10.7 seconds left in the game and it gave UCLA a 60-59 lead.  The refs could have went to the monitor and easily saw that there was no goal tending on the play but you cannot go the monitor on a goal tending call.  Despite having the ability to review almost anything else pertaining to close calls during a basketball game, were unable to go the monitors to look at this play and make a determination themselves.  Here’s what should have happened: After the goal tend call on the floor, the refs should have been able to go to the monitor, see that the two replays that CBS aired were inconclusive and ruled that the call on the floor stood.  But that’s not what happened, of course. The confusion after the call and the brief look refs took at whether it was a two-pointer or three-pointer, combined with the absurdity of the refs not being allowed to review the goal tend led to SMU having to rush their final possession. Whether it was a goal tend or not, SMU got robbed and Moreira, the player who made the play, was left in tears, blaming the loss on himself.