Jay Bilas comments on First Take
 

Bilas said that the NCAA game is more physical than the NBA.

Now I ask do you agree and if not why?

Peace

Disagree. I disagree with most things out of his mouth.

Honestly, the NBA players are bigger, stronger and more athletic. He is confusing physical with sloppy. I think the college game, being that its with less talented players, appears more physical but in reality the NBA players punish each other much, much more. They can just deal with it better.

He also claimed that this was a "well known" thing by NBA scouts or NBA people that the NCAA game is more physical.

Peace

My general opinion is that Bilas is a blowhard, but I might be inclined to agree in certain conferences. What is currently the "Big East" has a reputation for tolerance of extremely physical play, more so than other conferences.

Jay has also expressed many opinions on the state of college basketball officiating..

One I remember was that the amount of fouls called is down from the past and this has impacted the decrease in scoring.

I was just focusing on the fact that he said this as if there was no disputing this "fact."

I do agree that the NBA does a better job calling fouls on the perimeter. But that is about it. A lot of contact goes on in the NBA near the basket. How many times you see a play near the basket and the shooter looks at the official about a call that was not made?

Peace

Bilas has plenty of pro experience... in Europe. ;)

I watch alot of both NBA and NCAA games. I don't know that Bilas' statement is completely true, but I can see what he means. Twenty years ago, the NBA game was extremely physical. Think back to the late 80s and early 90s when the NBA games were much more physical (Bad Boys Pistons, Knicks etc...) At that time, the NCAA was less physical. The NBA has done a good job of cleaning up alot of the hand checking and the hard type fouls. The NCAA game has become more physical during the same span. I can see how Bilas would make the comment.

Nepotism On The Forum ???
 

Agreeing because you both have the same first names?

Whack!

I have a life long disdain for just about anything Duke related but IMO Bilas is one of the best analyst out there and I appreciate his take on things even if I don't always agree with it.

In terms of his comment that's the source of this thread I think JRut is spot on in that the NBA is less physical on the perimeter but not so much in the paint.

Does that mean that overall the NBA is less physical than NCAA? Not really but I can see where Bilas is coming from when he makes that comment.

In the NBA, the players, especially the guys in the paint are forced to play through far more contact. If NBA officials called some of the fouls you regularly see in NCAA, they wouldn't be in the NBA long.

What's old is new again...
 

These were written within a few weeks of each other during the '09-10 season.

'Rougher' than NBA, college hoops trying to adjust - College basketball- NBC Sports


The NCAA has to control rough play in college hoops - 12.21.09 - SI Vault

I guess if the players worked on their FTs, they could overcome this problem.:rolleyes:

I don't believe that college is more physical than the NBA (except on perimeter) but I do believe that it has become too physical. Looking at all of men's college ball - not just Div 1 -- it is brutal in the post. Watched a smaller college play about a month ago and they had recruited one of their football players about 6'7 300 lbs ---------- just to be physical inside. To me (and boy I'm dating myself) that isn't what basketball should be about. Yes, I understand players are bigger, stronger, faster but it seems that it is just about being physical inside.

I don't believe it is the only reason for the decrease in collegiate scoring but it sure has contributed.

On a personal note, my son who is about 5' 10- 5" 11 and 178 is working out like crazy to gain an additional 10 lbs by fall to prepare him for college ball. He told me " I have to do this to keep up ".

I don't know the answer but I know when I officiate Varsity boys ball it seems as though the physical play seen in college has migrated to HS .

Love the game , just hate to see it keep going in this direction.

:(

Charlie Rose - Jay Bilas

Link to interview where he talks about his book (cough-blowhard-cough) but at the end of interview he addresses the state of the college game. Blames it on the way the game is officiated but says its not the officials as much as a lack of governing body/commishoner to administer all games/conferences and officials specific to basketball.

Key concerns seemed to be:

That the game has contact that violates offensive movment/balance/rhythm etc every game that goes uncalled.

That players are purposefully committing fouls that impede or hinder and are being taught to and how too combat as they are not being called.

For a number of factors including rough play offensive scoring and efficiency is back to levels below pre-shot clock.

NBA game has one person to whom conferences, teams, and officials are accountable so when that person is making decisions on the on court product everyone has to get on the same page in terms of calls and gameplay. If the game is not called or played the way they were directed they can be held accountable doesn't feel like that exists across NCAA.

PS. Am I the only one that finds it ironic that a former Duke perimeter player is complaining about the lack or offensive freedom and looking for foul calls?? ;)

I didn't go to the link but again I'm a fan of Bilas' and find characterization of him as a blowhard to be very inaccurate. You don't have to agree with everything he says but if you listen to him the guy is insightful and willing to take thoughtful positions that don't always follow what all the other talking heads like to repeat.

IMO the points he raises above are valid and worthy of further discussion.

And Bilas was a post player not a perimeter player. I think he's just giving his honest opinion here without the hidden agenda that some seem to suggest.

PS- I loathe Duke University and just about everything associated with it. (Unless of course I get picked up by the ACC one day. In which case, I view every institution of higher learning equally and favorably.)

Coach K's legendary crack investigators will no doubt find this quote no matter how many times you edit or delete and if you do get picked up by the ACC you won't have to worry about ever working a game for the Blue Devils:D

Lol- Would not doubt if this was true.

But I should probably work on advancing past juco games before worrying about it.

He makes very good points and despite what some of us may or may not feel about his blowhard status (I'm a Big East guy :)) much of what he said has been written right here in this very forum in one way or another.

Just look at some of the posts we've had recently and in the past about things such as travels to the effect of "well, it was technically a travel but..." What the heck does "technically a travel" mean? If the foot movement violates the rule as its written, it's a travel. There's stuff we don't want to call because we'll be seen as the bad guy, either by coaches, fans, assignors or our fellow officials. Heck, in one of my NCAAW games I called an obvious travel (the hop-step to gather for a three pointer) on a girl on the losing team who was right in front of me with 0:06 remaining in what was an eight-point game. One of my partners looked at me like I had two heads and in the dressing room said he would've let it go because "it would've made (that team) feel good to get a final shot off."

As far as fouls go, Bilas is right. Some coaches teach their kids to foul because they know at some point we'll get sick of blowing the whistle and/or hearing the groans of the coaches and players to "let them play." I think Bilas was speaking out of both sides of his mouth, though, when it comes to the officials' role and the role of an overall supervisor. On one hand during the Charlie Rose interview he says one person is needed to set the standard as with pro sports, which is true. On the other hand in one of the print interviews that I posted earlier in this thread he said he didn't want "absolutes." Unless he's changed his views on that you can't have it both ways. The NBA cleaned up a lot of what goes on both in and away from the post by establishing absolutes and holding officials accountable.

One person keeping control of the officiating standards is key, though it would be borderline impossible with so many college officials. For my fellow NCAAW officials you'll remember the absolute that was established on the "hot-stove" touch a few years ago. Since coaches are the ones who make changes to NCAA rules I figured there wouldn't be much of a problem with this one. So what happens? The first time I call it in a scrimmage, the defensive coach is complaining about "ticky-tack" fouls (though I did say to him, "Coach, we were told this is what you want called.") but the telling reaction was from my partners that night. They didn't follow suit. Unless we're all getting the exact same message from on high to call those freedom of movement plays or our schedules will truly be affected, we won't do it. That's a fact and I know I'm guilty of it as much as the next guy/girl.

Agree +1000

Just watch the 1977 Championship game between Marquette and North Carolina. If you played the defense the way they played it back then, the coach would take you out of the game five seconds later unless you were an offensive superstar.

Your boy just tweeted:

"Let's just decide charge/block calls with the arrow. They'd get more of them right."

Blowhard about fits.

I must have missed this comment in travels schedule.

But a technical travel to me is something that you can slow down and show, but would hardly be caught in real time or would have more of a debate. And unlike here we cannot stop the picture or slow down action to that we make a call. It really kind of gets on my nerves when people act as if these are things officials clearly see and then make a decision not to call. Officiating is hard at times and many not so much on the Women's side, but the guys side these guys are very fast, move very quickly and determining anything can be very hard to do. I have had games on TV where I am pretty confident I was correct to only be wrong when I see the video in slow motion. And I hear folks act like they get every travel, but then I see many called that are not there even in live action. It is not different with fouls as there might be contact that displaces a player, but we determine it was not enough based on the game, the athletes or even the specific situation.

Peace