2007-08 Major Mechanics Changes

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Mark Dexter

Just wondering - what part of the mechanic do you see as a liability issue?

I cannot speak for TA, but I will speak for what I believe it is. If you set the ball down and some unsuspecting cheerleader starts flipping, they might trip over the ball and get hurt. Now I have been a person that has been nearly ran into by a cheerleader during timeouts when they were not supposed to be on the court. And when timeouts occur sometimes I have had to stop cheerleaders from coming onto the court just during 30 second when players were on the court. So I can only imagine how dumb these girls (and the usual guy) will be when you put a ball on the court. They are so eager to jump and do flips they do not look where they are going. I can only wait to see how many cheerleaders will damn near kill themselves when they do not notice the ball sitting on the court. Now I am not talking about college cheerleaders that in many cases only come onto the court during choreographed segments, I am talking about HS cheerleaders that their coach is a parent that tries to wear cloths someone 15 years their junior tries to wear. If these cheerleaders are not smart enough to get out of the way when someone 250 pounds is running in their direction and not looking at them, what makes you think they will pay attention with a ball on the floor?

Did I mention I cannot stand cheerleaders?

Peace

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Did I mention I cannot stand cheerleaders?

Peace

Really? Some of my favorite girlfriends in high school were cheerleaders!

[M&M Guy]

Fwiw, setting the ball down at the throw-in spot has been a mechanic in NCAA-W for a couple of years now. (Or, maybe it was just last year, with it being an experimental mechanic the year before?) Anyway, I was against it for all the reasons listed above - people tripping over it, kicking it away, taking it when you're not looking, etc. But I have not seen or heard any examples of those problems. The main reason for this mechanic is communication with the players and coaches as to where the ball is to be put in play. Usually the best example of this happens near the end of a game - there's a turnover, the ball goes OOB along the baseline, then there's a TO. The crew might get together near center court to go over things (who's got last shot, watch for the trap on the throw-in, keep an eye out for intentional fouls, white's in the bonus, but blue still has only 5, let's stay in this one, etc.), and that's when usually an asst. coach sticks their head out of the huddle and asks, "Where's the ball?". Now all we have to do is point at the ball sitting right on the throw-in spot.

In most other normal game situations, the official administering the throw-in will be standing right next to the ball, so there are less opportunities for shenanigans and stuff. I was against the mechanic in the beginning, but I've grown accustomed to it.