Geno Auriemma’s career at UConn has led to tremendous success, as seven women’s basketball national championships and 13 trips to the Final Four certainly attest to.
But when Auriemma looks to the sport’s future, he sees many areas, within and outside the game., that could benefit from original thought and change.
Monday, after taping an episode of CPTV Sports new sports talk panel show, “Beyond the Beat,” at his restaurant at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino, which airs Tuesday night at 7, Auriemma laid out some specifics.
“The game hasn’t grown as much as it should in the last 10 years and much of the old guard doesn’t want to hear it,” Auriemma said. “In 2002, we played the Final Four in front of 30,000 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
“Now, 10 years later [2011], we [the women’s Final Four] can’t sellout the Conseco Field House [in Indianapolis]? So how much has the game possibly improved, in terms of how badly people want to see it?”
Auriemma believes one of the ways to increase the game’s appeal is by increasing offensive efficiency.
“What makes fans not want to watch women’s basketball is that some of the players can’t shoot and they miss lay-ups and that forces the game to slow down,” he said.
“How do help improve that? Lower the rim [from 10 feet]. Do you think the average fan knows that the net is lower in women’s volleyball than men’s volleyball? It’s about seven inches shorter so the women have the chance for the same kind of success at the net [as the men].”
Auriemma equates the volleyball equation to basketball.
“Let’s say the average men’s player is 6-5 and the average woman is 5-11,” Auriemma said. “Let’s lowe the rim seven inches; let’s say 7.2 inches to honor Title IX [instituted in 1972]. If you lower it, the average fan likely wouldn’t even notice it.
“Now there would be fewer missed layups because the players are actually at the rim [when they shoot]. Shooting percentages go up. There would be more tip-ins.
“This spring, I plan on proposing [to the rules committee] that the NCAA allow programs to keep their teams together in order to play scrimmages against an opponent, with the lower basket, with a 24-second shot clock and an eight-second backcourt rule, and see what happens.”
Auriemma believes there aren’t many coaches in the sport who would support such a change because they believe the level of athleticism in the game couldn’t keep up with the faster game.
“Why is softball played on a different field than baseball?,” Auriemma said. “Why don’t they ask those women to play with 90-foot base paths?
“And I hate the smaller ball [that women use]. They either need to change the ball or change the rims. The bigger ball sits on the rim longer [for layups]. But no one wants to hear that.
“I wouldn’t say this is an active topic of conversation among the coaches yet. But it’s going to be [soon].”
Auriemma would also support selecting cities that would annually host the NCAAs four regional and Final Fours in women’s basketball, instead of moving them around.
“Omaha does it for baseball. Oklahoma City does it for softball,” Aureimma said. “Why? Because people in those cities embrace the event, feel like it is there’s.
“Let me know the next time the lacrosse Final Four is played in San Diego, instead of Baltimore of Foxboro where all the fans are. They don’t move all over the country just to make people happy.
“I’d hold the women’s Final Four in San Antonio and wouldn’t go to a big city for any of the regionals. They don’t care about [women’s basketball]. It never works in a place like that.
“I’d look for places where people traditionally support the sport … Go places where people already love women’s basketball. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say, when leaving a Final Four, ‘Damn, I didn’t know it would be like this [so exciting]. And next year, if we have it …. Well, you know what, you’re not getting it next year or ever.
“The things that the sites learn [from hosting an event] are wasted because they may never get it back.”
Auriemma would like to see the Final Four staged on Friday and Sunday, instead of Sunday and Tuesday to help working fans better accommodate travel.
“The system is not working and when something isn’t working you should work to make changes,” Auriemma said. “If the changes don’t work, well at least you tried. It’s a lot better than just complaining about everything all the time.”
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13 Responses to Auriemma Advocating Major Change To The Sport, NCAA Tournament
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FREDDYKOOL: WOW I TOO HAVE SAID THE SAME THING, PUT THE GAMES WHERE THE FANS SUPPORT IT. LIKE THE WNBA SHOULD HAVE TEAMS IN TENN,OKLAHOMA,MARYLAND ETC ETC. GENO HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD. GOOD POST JOHN!!!!
In 2002 there was no HD TV. I’d suggest to the coach that he go to one of these mega-arenas that don’t sell out and climb up to those unsold seats and watch a game, then watch the same game on a 50″ HD screen. He’d quickly see why people don’t buy those seats. The days of bringing binoculars to a game because the alternative was a 25″ low def fuzzy picture are gone. It’s time to realize that the technology and times have changed. There was a time when baseball parks were filled every day because the alternative was radio.
Good point, John. Football and baseball are also more fulfilling on the wide screen than in person, not to mention triple digit prices.
I’m a purist. I love the old style basketball. I hate pro basketball–all run and gun. Without coaches that matter the game get to be –my big guy (or girl) can beat your big guy or girl .
But as usual Geno has put thought into this. Lower the basket 5 inches. Use the Men’s ball. 15 second back court rule. Shot clock at 35 seconds. Faster game, with a coach that can still make a difference.
4 fixed sites around the country for the Regionals. Centrally located Final 4 site. Not the river walk city. But the National site must have things for the fans to do beside watch basketball. Restuarants, night clubs, shows–am I say MSG?? Yet MSG.
The game is great. But this will make it greater
FREDDY–IT AIN’T COOL TO ADD OKLAHOMA IN THE BIG TIME ATTENDANCE SCHOOLS. ASK SHERRY. SHE’S WORKED FOR 10 YEARS TO GET ‘CONSTANT’ ATTENDANCE. WHEN UCONN COMES TO TOWN, EVERYONE ATTENDS. GENO CALL THIS THE CIRCUS EFFECT.
STANFORD, PALA ALTO, IS BIG FOR BASKETBALL WHEN UCONN ARRIVES. SPEAK TO THE LOCALS, WOMEN’S BASKETBALL DO THEY PLAY THAT HERE??? SAME IS TRUE IN OKC. KNOXVILLE IS BIG TIME WBB. BUT NOT BRISTOL UP THE ROAD OR NASHVILLE DOWN THE ROAD. GENO HAS RUINED US ALL BELIEVING WBB IS THE SAME EVERWHERE–NO FOLKS ONLY IN STORRS AND HARTFORD CIVIC CENTER. GENO IS RIGHT SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE TO GET THE FUDDY DUDDY, OLD TIMER JERKS (LIKE ME) TO SEE THE LIGHT.
Freddy–I was in Norman and asked people in local restaurants about various players on their Womens BB team. Not one soul, including current students, knew of what I was speaking. I’m not sure they even knew who Sherry Coale was.
Lowering the rim, as Geno suggests, might increase attendance among the prized 18-35 year old male demographic,
but I’ve never been in favor of trying to make the women’s
game a pale imitation of the men’s game. Personally, I’ve
always enjoyed the game played below the rim, particularly
when it’s played by a talented, well coached team like UConn. Also, even if you could get the U.S. coaches on
board with this you would still have to convince FIBA or
else our women would be at a disadvantage in international
competition.
I would never attempt to debate with Geno on anything women’s basketball for the obvious reason.
I would ask him a few questions though. Does he realize why many of us like the women’s game? For me they treat it like the team sport it was meant to be and actually pass the ball. He is looking for more scoring which sells tickets, I know, but do we really want to see dunk a thons between the few teams in the country that have the super tall center?
While on that subject would this not encourage players of less height but with leaping ability to try to dunk rather than lay it in with the lower rim? It has been documented that the landing is what causes so many leg injuries with the women of a different physical make up than men. This was documented in The Courant and by Geno a few years ago as we were coming up with ACL problems on a yearly basis.
On this one I say raise the mens rim! Most all D-1 players are playing above it now. That and I agree with John above as the times change it is more about the TV contract than the door. They have bled the fans and they now get it. Ticket then a fee for buying the ticket then pay to park etc…
On the other hand I do agree all basketballs should be the same size. I think this has more to do with the lay up problem than the rim height. 7th graders do lay ups on ten foot hoops and realize it will get easier each year.
I will say the three point nothing but net will go down a notch though……..
There do have to be changes. A ten second rule works, so why make it eight seconds? Twenty-four seconds for the shot clock works. Yes, the tournament should be held in cities where fans will support the game and the players. Geno has it right. I didn’t enjoy watching UConn lose to Stanford in the semi finals in Tampa, but it was an electric atmosphere.
Ed–ARTY–Chris– Changes are going to happen without doubt. But I agree with Ed and ARTY I love the game UConn Women play. A 10 second clock has worked for the men for year–why make it quicker for the women? FIBA probably is where we should be modeling the Womens’ game from and the Men’s game too, including the NBA. If we are going to be playing on an international stage–make that stage level for our players. The final 4 tickets have been difficult to impossible to get in the past 10 years–so many of us gave up in trying to get them. Maybe that’s why the attendance was down in the final 4.
Uconn fans, Arkansas fans and Okla fans follow their teams to hell and back just to cheer their hearts out. Ask any venue operator which teams do they want in their house–the three above will always be mentioned.
The logic in lowering the rim seems obvious and the vollyball analogy supports that. I also cringe at all the missed layups. The argument against women playing above the rim somehow misses me. Whenever Brittney Griner completes a rare dunk it’s on the highlight reels for days. Is that bad for women’s BB?
Tex B…What you are missing is it will no longer be rare if they lower the rim…
I usually find what Coach Auriemma says interesting and for the most part 100% corret. This time I disagree with the coach about lowering the rims for more scoring. I think more scoring, especially at UConn would hurt the attendance more than help. Many of the UConn Women games are blow-outs now played by more talented and better coached players than the competition. I believe many fans stay home instead of seeing blow-out games while paying for tickets, parking, and gas, etc. to attend a game. They turn on the TV and watch the game until the score gets out of hand and then turn the channel. There are only a handful of quality collegiate women basketball teams and it makes, for the most part, a better Great Eight and Final Four Tournament than the men’s tournament.