New rule changes add wrinkles to men's game

From the time they were in grade school, basketball players have been taught to play until the whistle. All the way up until the referee’s signal, but not past it—because those are the rules.

But now the rules have changed.

In addition to having to incorporate four new starters, Duke must navigate a new set of rules on the court as it sets out to defend its national title. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee announced a set of 25 regulation changes in June that will be implemented beginning this season.

With scoring declining across the country in recent years, the changes are aimed at opening up play and creating a game more akin to the one played overseas and in the NBA. Reducing the shot clock from 35 seconds to 30 and moving the restricted circle out from three feet to four are the two most obvious changes fans will see, with several other minor tweaks to officiating norms also coming into play.

The new procedures certainly have not been lost on coaches—who will now have to manage with one fewer timeout in the second half—and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski made it a point to begin his first media availability session of the season with his take on their projected effects.

“They’re going to have a big impact on the game. They’re going to want to talk about the clock and I think that five seconds is a huge decrease so you can’t have extended dribbles,” Krzyzewski said. “And what does that mean for the defense, for how you run the offense, for the personnel that you might use? We have to take a good look at that. I think that will have a big impact on the game. In fact, I know it will have a big impact.”

The NCAA last made changes to its shot clock heading into the 1993-94 campaign, when it decreased from 45 seconds to the 35 that had been in place for the last 20 years. This most recent reduction moves the NCAA’s shot clock even closer to the 24 seconds used by the NBA and FIBA—a mark Krzyzewski said he would be in favor of the college game eventually transitioning to.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said the main purpose of the new regulations is for “providing better balance between offense and defense.” The extension of the restricted circle should presumably allow offensive players to attack the rim more freely—and when the change was implemented in the 2015 NIT, there was a nearly 30 percent decrease in block and charge calls per game.

Blue Devil forward Amile Jefferson—who as a senior has to adjust from three years of experience under the old rules—has noticed a difference right away with the new rules after just a few exhibitions.

“The charge [circle] was a lot bigger. Yeah, it’s different,” Jefferson said. “And guys have to now be aware of where it is, so that when we’re doing drills, it’s really about teaching guys that you have to be a step up now. When you’re taking a charge, you have to really be set. But I think it’ll help speed the game up.”

Although the charge circle and shot clock modifications will likely receive the most attention, the majority of the 25 rule changes have to do with subtly changing the way the game is officiated. Swofford said all officials were given instructions to “reduce physicality in order to create more freedom of movement in the game,” mainly by being stricter on the hand-checking defensive restrictions implemented two seasons ago and giving less leeway with moving screens in both pick-and-roll and off-ball screen situations.

Despite the primary focus on shifting the game toward offense, defensive-minded players and coaches can still glean advantages from the new rules. Post defenders in the past were allowed to use an arm bar when the offensive player was battling for position, but not once he had the ball—a distinction that now no longer exists.

Jefferson in particular was excited about the arm bar change, which he anticipated would allow him and other interior defenders to use their bodies and create a stronger base stance. The strategy for defending dominant post scorers like former Duke center Jahlil Okafor may no longer be to swarm them with double-and-triple teams—a scheme opponents frequently threw at Okafor last season—thanks to defenders who can now more easily stand their ground.

“I think [post scorers] took advantage of being able to back down easier,” Krzyzewski said. “I think that’s a huge thing, because whatever you’re doing out from the perimeter to the inside, or if you wanted to attack or blitz the low post, you probably have a chance to do it higher now than lower because of that. I’m intrigued by it, so I think it’s a big thing.”

At this point, it is nearly impossible for players and coaches to assess the impact of the new rules from just a few scrimmages and practices. Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton noticed an increase in whistles on screens and said his team has been at the free-throw line more than ever during the Seminoles’ two preseason scrimmages. Other coaches such as N.C. State’s Mark Gottfried expressed skepticism that whistles will blow with more regularity.

The regular season will be an experiment of sorts—and nobody really knows what the results will be.

“It’s going to be a very interesting challenge as coaches. People have asked me, ‘How do you think the rules will affect the game?’ Twenty-five different rule changes and you ask me how it’s going to affect the game?’” Hamilton said at ACC Media Day last month. “I don’t think the guys who made the rules and who recommended the rules have any idea how 25 rules are going to affect the game.”