Legendary women's basketball
coach, Geno Auriemma of the University of Connecticut, has suggested
that the NCAA lower the rim. He has led the Huskies' to seven national
championships so he probably knows what he's talking about.
He thinks this will generate
more interest in the game and will account for the natural biological
height differences between men and women. Auriemma says that the average
male player is 6'5" but the average female player is only 5'11".
He believes that the adjustments made in lowering the net for women's volleyball can serve as a model for basketball.
“What makes fans not want to watch women’s basketball is that some of
the players can’t shoot and they miss layups and that forces the game
to slow down. 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].”
He suggests lowering the rim seven inches or more in basketball too.
“Let’s lower the rim seven inches, let’s
say 7.2 inches to honor Title IX. 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.”
Auriemma says he will make a proposal in the spring to the NCAA rules committee.
Good idea?
Read more here and here.
