Possession arrow in college basketball
How do you feel about the use of the possession arrow to determine who gets the ball after tie-ups? I don't like it. It adds an element of randomness that can end up being game-changing. Yesterday Douglass (I think) made an excellent defensive play to tie up an Illinois player with around 1:20 to go. If the arrow had favored us, it would have resulted in a key turnover. But it favored UI, so the play went for naught. That just seems silly to me. Shouldn't both teams get a chance at the ball after a tie-up? They do to start the game.
The pros jump it up every time. It's an exciting play, and it gives both teams a fair shot at the ball. I heard a referee explain once that the reason college doesn't do that is because college refs have a tough time tossing the ball straight up. Seriously? It's not that hard. And honestly, I'd rather take my chances on a possibly ill-thrown ball than have a random arrow decide possession.
(Imagine hockey having a possession arrow instead of faceoffs. How lame would that be?)
February 24th, 2010 at 8:27 AM ^
but unfortunately I don't think the rule will ever be changed. I can't ever remember there even being a discussion of it.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^
Remember that thread where you posted about it this morning? I think that counts. :)
February 24th, 2010 at 8:50 AM ^
I like the possession arrow, because in college, there's a much better chance of one team or the other having a significant size advantage. The NBA is a lot more evenly spread. Why should a college team always get the ball off a tie-up, no matter what, just because they happen to have the seven-foot galoot?
February 24th, 2010 at 8:53 AM ^
Its more about the other players essentially fighting for a rebound than the player taking the jump. Obviously if you have a guy that can leisurely look and pass to someone in the air, this is a moot point, but for the most part "winning" and jump ball isn't all about the guy that gets his hand on it.
February 24th, 2010 at 8:57 AM ^
And who's more likely to get a rebound? Short guys or tall guys?
Again: I see no reason why the rules should punish a team with a size disadvantage.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:01 AM ^
The rules of basketball as a whole punish a team with a size disadvantage. I see no reason to go out of the way to cater towards smaller teams. Should we make 3 pointers worth 4 to make it less worthwhile to go inside? Or only award 1 point for shots that start with back to the basket moves, so that teams don't take advantage individual size mismatches?
February 24th, 2010 at 9:39 AM ^
Well, yes, obviously the nature of basketball favors big guys, but when a smaller team has successfully worked to neutralize that by causing a tie-up, that's when I don't like seeing the rules take it away from them.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^
Remember that in a jump ball situation, it is the two who were tied up that jump for it. It's not take your tallest players and have them battle for it. In college I think it would be hilarious seeing two diminuative point guards having to jump for it.
February 24th, 2010 at 8:51 AM ^
#1 rule I would change in sports is having them jump it up at every level.
#2 rule I would change is half the distance penalties. It pisses me off when a team gets a 1/2 distance penalty and it results in a yard or two and the other team essentially gets the same penalty the next play and its 5 or 10 yards. Something should be done about that. Maybe make it half the distance both ways (like half the distance to the closest endzone but backwards).
February 24th, 2010 at 8:59 AM ^
#2 I agree with and have always hated. I'd write the rule so that if penalties happen on consecutive plays, in either order, and if they're both ordinarily the same yardage, the second penalty is marked off for the same yardage as the first.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:02 AM ^
Thats what I meant with my terrible explanation.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:11 AM ^
the ball dont lie
February 24th, 2010 at 10:11 AM ^
If the defense ties up the ball the defense should get the ball. No need to jump everytime.
February 24th, 2010 at 11:07 AM ^
I don't know if that would be fair. It's a joint possession. You'd probably see a lot fewer jump balls called in that case (especially because, as it is, defenders often get away with some contact when they're grabbing the ball) than now.
February 24th, 2010 at 10:36 AM ^
I didn't know until the Iowa game, that when the game goes to OT, the possession over starts over again to the team that lost the OT tip-off. I feel its dumb that the possession arrow doesn't just roll over from before OT. During the Iowa game, Michigan had the possession arrow at the end of the 2nd half, but won the tip-off in OT, so Iowa got the arrow back without earning it. This basically just gives a possession away for the team that had it at the end of regulation. When Mich made a play in OT to tie the ball up, they had to give the ball back to Iowa, which couldve been a huge difference in such a close game.
February 24th, 2010 at 11:13 AM ^
Article XVI Section a11.23.34 states: Stupid rule that needs to be changed.
February 24th, 2010 at 11:30 AM ^
I swear the NCAA changed this rule for like a year about 15 years ago or so. If the defense made a play to tie the ball up, it was given to them. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I swear they did this for a year, or maybe it was one of those experimental rules the NCAA likes to try out at the beginning of the season.