KU’s Bill Self, Mike Krzyzewski share ideas for changing college basketball rules
.jpg "Duke coaching legend Mike Krzyzewski, left, contacted fellow Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Self to offer a heartfelt message after the death of the latter’s father.")
When the Kansas men’s basketball team played Arkansas last month in Fayetteville, the format for the charity game was different.
Instead of two 20-minute halves, the teams played four 10-minute periods. Could it be the future of the game?
KU coach Bill Self on Thursday joined the “Basketball & Beyond with Coach K” show on SiriusXM. He and former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski had a fascinating discussion about changes they’d like to see to the college game.
“I think we should play the game like the NBA,” Krzyzewski said. “A 24-second (shot clock), most of the same rules and officiating, probably not defensive three seconds, but four quarters, advance the ball, because these kids want to play in the NBA, I don’t understand why we’re not playing it. What’s your opinion on the rules of the game?”
Self said he thinks the game should be played with more pace.
“I actually like the international rules. I like the quarters for one big reason: fouls reset every quarter,” Self said. “I think in our game, the foul situation puts teams in situations and players where they’re defensive playing defense for half of the half, or whatever it would be. So I do like that.
“I like advancing the ball. I think that adds for excitement. ... I haven’t thought as much about the 24-second clock, but the one thing I will say is, I think our rules, and I’m not trying to be negative whatsoever, but our rules are basically made to accommodate all of basketball at the collegiate level.”
Self suggested Division I basketball might benefit from having a different set of rules than the rest of the NCAA levels. Perhaps the Olympic rules would work.
In the Olympics, there are four 10-minute periods, the individual foul limit for players is six and there is a 24-second shot clock. The shot clock for college games is 30 seconds.
“It’s still a different level playing fast with the 24-second clock than it is a 30-second clock, or even before with the 45-second clock (before 1993),” Self said.
“I think we would adjust. I think the players would love it. I think conditioning would get better. I actually think our game would probably be improved if, in fact, there was more pace to it.”
Expanded coaching time
Krzyzewski particularly liked Self’s idea of resetting fouls and said sometimes officials are keyed up for a big game and call a lot of fouls early.
“Now you’re saddled with those for 18 minutes, and I think that is one of the most important points you made,” Krzyzewski said.. “I agree with it.”
Krzyzewski also would like to allow coaches to have more time with players. Currently they are limited to four hours per day and 20 hours per week.
“With the international players coming in too, Bill, they’re accustomed to access to coaching anytime, at any time in the year,” he said.
Self agreed with Krzyzewski.
“They’re going to get it from somebody,” Self said. “Regardless of what’s going on with NIL and the perception of a lot of different things out there, kids still want to be coached. They still want to get better. They still yearn for the discipline of a routine. ... We spend so much time on rules that are very, very difficult to enforce, if at all, and we spend so much time in looking at something is what is fair across the board as opposed to, ‘Hey, if we’re talking about student athlete welfare, what’s really best for the kids?’
“Kids go to college for multiple reasons. They go to college because they want to put themselves in a position to provide for their loved ones and have a platform to provide for loved ones in ways they couldn’t if they didn’t go to college. Well, a lot of that is also through athletics and in development and stuff like that. Why do we have limits on on the development of young people?”
New governance
Krzyzewski said he would like to see a new way of governing college basketball.
“Football has it. Football can do whatever they want to do. They run it like a business. They have a group leading it,” Krzyzewski said. “They can make changes quickly and whatever. Besides changing the rules of the game and getting them modern ... it’s time to have a governing structure not from the NCAA. I mean, there can be NCAA rules and all that, but where coaches and the people at the top, like Division I, conference commissioners, run the game.
“In other words, a change doesn’t have to go through four different committees. And to get control over our game in whatever way, and the NBA can’t do that, but the NBA would love to help college basketball show what they do. ... I think it’s going to come from the power four commissioners and that type of guidance. Would you be open to doing something like that?”
Self would and said rule changes are not made by people who understand what it’s like to be a Division I coach.
“The people that are well-versed in the world that we live in, should be the ones making the decisions on how our world works, as opposed to somebody that has never walked in our shoes before that really understand how it works,” Self said. “I get such a kick out of recruiting rules that are made, and then people that are helping make those rules have never recruited.
“We make judgments in theory that haven’t taken in consideration unintended consequences, which actually impact us as much as anything they possibly could. So I would be all for that. I’m a big proponent of that. Football is ahead of us light years in that regard and it’s like basketball has always been a team player.”
Self said the NCAA Tournament provides revenue for other college sports, and maybe basketball should focus on its own sport.
“I could be wrong because I’m not an expert on this but football has figured out, you know what, let’s worry about football,” he added. “Let’s worry about our contingent that actually is driving revenue. Let’s worry about this and they branch off and do their own thing. “I don’t know how it will be, but my prediction is going to be ultra, ultra successful, and generate income and revenue streams that we never thought that could be generated before.
“And I feel like that basketball has been operating in a way where we haven’t maximized, or even come close to getting to the point where we’re reaching our potential on what we can do for ourselves.”
Revenue sharing
Self talked about the way Kansas is trying to maximize how much money it makes because revenue will be shared with student-athletes. He mentioned why the Maui Invitational may not make the most sense for the Jayhawks.
“We had some good games in Maui, and I love the tournament and I love the concept, everything,” Self said. “But it’s an expensive trip to get to, and they do everything they possibly can there, and the other ones, Atlantis or wherever. But still the opportunities to generate income for your program at a time where there’s rev share now and we have to make so much money, you’re giving away, potentially a million dollars every game you don’t play in your building.
“And so I do think philosophically, we are changing in how we do things. I don’t know if you looked at our schedule this year, but, oh my gosh, we got Carolina, which, if you get a chance to play home and home with Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, the way I look at it, it’s a bucket list thing, it’s good for everybody: the fanbase, players.”
But Self said the KU athletic department is looking for ways to reap more money.
Self added: “I think my administration is looking at it like, ‘OK, Bill, these are all great games, but how do we tap into and cut against the rev share? How do we actually make money doing these games rather than playing them for experiences,’ which is sad but I think that’s the real world now.”
The Jayhawks play Duke in Las Vegas later this month in what is considered a multi-team event (MTE). Self explained how the format for that Vegas Showdown event.
“That game with Jon (Scheyer, Duke’s coach) is actually an MTE type event, and the other game is played on our campus and on Duke’s campus,” Self said. “And so you get the home gate, you pay a guarantee out, and then we’ll split whatever we do in Vegas. At least, I assume that’s how it’s done.”
He added: “I really see that’s the way of the future with scheduling. And I talked to many of my coaching cohorts, and they feel the same way. It’s just economically, it’s just hard not to look at everything without looking at it from an economic perspective.”
Krzyzewski agreed and said: “The whole thing needs to be remodeled and restructured.”
