BIG 12 CONFERENCE BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL TIPOFF MEDIA DAY

October 20, 2021

Curtis Shaw

Media Day Press Conference

CURTIS SHAW: We hired a female last year, worked conference games, worked conference tournament, would have been selected for the NCAA tournament if they hadn't reduced their numbers if they were there.

We're excited in the Big 12 about that, the diversity going on in athletics. We've hired a second female official this year. It's given us another avenue. My theory when I talked to Commissioner about it was let's get the best we can get, I don't care who they are. We're excited about where we're going with our staff and the future.

There's a couple of things, the rules this year, that you're going to see different. We have made a big push from our side of the business over traveling and over blocked charges in the last few years. The idea of a defensive player being able to step in at the last second when an offensive player is already committed, draw a charge, just doesn't seem right on our side of the game.

A lot of our coaches are great at teaching the block charge, but is that really basketball? Same things go with travel. There's certain moves that are filtered down over the years, and we really wanted the Rules Committee to address it.

The Rules Committee didn't want to undertake everything, but they did come up with some approved rulings on travel. Three plays in the past that have been semi-controversial, Euro step, the step back, and the spin move, have now got an approved ruling written that basically says they're legal. You're going to see plays this year that you're going to see, that's a travel. Technically by rule it is, but they're going to allow them to happen. The theory being this is the way these kids have played, it's the way it's filtered down over the years. We have to adjust to how they play the game.

I think it's going to make it very hard. I was visiting some of our schools Monday, I think it's going to make it very hard on our teams to play defense. I think it's going to increase scoring because it's going to be very hard to defend somebody who can make a move before you're releasing the ball to dribble. That's what's Rules Committee wanted so that's what we'll do.

When you see plays this year that you're going, Wait a minute, this doesn't look right, that's the new interpretation of the rule.

The other couple of things they're big on is still the flopping, the shooters that just fall to the ground. There's going to be even more emphasis on penalizing them, taking that part of the game totally out. The protecting the shooter. I know you've seen plays in the NBA and college where a guy will step underneath the shooter, comes down on his foot, breaks his ankle.

The cylinder play is going to be even more in effect. We do not want the defender to interfere with the jump shooter until he comes back to the floor, prevents injury, makes for a better basketball game.

The last thing is screens. We've been working hard on those because our game has gone to so much high pick'n roll type play, we have to set legal screens, stay within the framework of the body or the defense has no chance.

Those are going to be the main emphasis this year, with the biggest key I want to hit on is the traveling because it's going to look different. You will have plays that can be made legally that have never been allowed before.

I'd be glad to answer any questions.

Q. There have been a few changes in the NBA for calling especially in kicking a leg out when the offensive player is shooting. Do you see that trickling into college basketball?

CURTIS SHAW: We addressed that two years ago and made it where it's an offensive foul. It really cut it back. We might have had one or two last year. But I think the players figured out really quick they're not going to draw a foul, they're going to get called for an offensive foul. It wasn't a major problem last year, hopefully it just stays out of the game if we just enforce it.

Q. You made it sound like defenders coming in at the last second, that's a block now. Can you go a little further into how you would call the block charge.

CURTIS SHAW: What we tried to get the Rules Committee to look at, Coach Huggins is on the Rules Committee, I haven't got to talk to him about what really went on. An offensive player, once he's gathered the ball and starts his movement, he can't change. The fact that our rule allows the defender to then step in front, all he has to do is be set a split second before the offensive player's one toe leaves the ground, makes it impossible.

It's also extremely difficult to referee because that split-second difference when you're watching the defender get legal, you don't see when the offensive player leaves the floor. We're not very good at it. But I don't know that you could be good at it it's so hard to do.

We tried to do it more to when the plant foot hits, the secondary defender can no longer jump in front. I think there was some pushback from our national rules coordinator, he thinks it's too much like the NBA. I don't know the inner workings. I have to talk to Coach Huggins.

The block charge is the hardest play in the game because of the size and speed we have in our players now. I think it's a very fair advantage to the offensive player who has already committed to a move.

Q. When you mentioned the Euro step, step back and spin move, are you liberalizing what's called a gather step? How will you regulate what becomes a travel in those situations?

CURTIS SHAW: The way the Rules Committee interpreted it, our national coordinator, if there's any gray area whether he gathered the ball with a foot on the ground or not, if he gathers it with no foot on the ground, he can basically do whatever he wants. Err on the side of letting the player do it.

In reality, unless it's so obvious that he took three steps backwards or on a spin move he never once dribbled, just kept running, you'll never see any of them called. It's too hard to deserve, you'll catch too much grief if a similar play happens and you don't call it.

I don't think on those three plays you're going to see any travels called.

Q. Are these changes something we're going to see across the league, or how does that play out in non-conference games?

CURTIS SHAW: It's nationwide. In this day and age, unlike football, our guys work in every conference in the country. They're working in the ACC, the SEC, the PAC, everything else. They're going to do the same things everywhere they go.

In having some of our Zoom stuff, because we still couldn't have live NCAA meetings, one of the things we talked about is don't nitpick unless it's just so gosh-awful obvious, let it go. I think that's what you'll see around the country.

I really think it's going to be bad for basketball. I don't think you can now defend a player.

Q. You have a very difficult job. One area that I wonder about is the carry. Is there a standard you look for when it's a carry and when it's not?

CURTIS SHAW: From 32 years ago when I started to how they play now, it's a big difference. The difference is it's just the natural dribble of these players. So the rule says one thing, the interpretation says if you hesitate the dribble to beat the defender, then you call it. You can stand out there and do this all day long, it's never going to be called. Dribble east and west. It's only if you hesitate the dribble to go by a defender are we going to call it.

Q. I was recently told by a coach that he feels any notion of pressing defenses and pressure defenses, trapping, have basically been ruled out of his arsenal as a defensive coach. Is there any voice for that in the room when it comes to how the game is being called and things like that?

CURTIS SHAW: That's a great question.

I think what happened is our pressing defenses became such a violation of the defense violating the offensive positioning, that's why we had to get strict open it.

If a defender is allowed to come up and double-team you, you can't play. He's either going to travel, commit a foul, do whatever. So the Rules Committee made a real effort to say, We don't care if you press and trap, but the offensive player has a cylinder around him, like a big glass cone. You cannot penetrate that.

Therefore, when they can't get so tight that they're laying on them, now if they bring two guys, the offensive guy has room to get up, throw it, release pass, he breaks away for a layup. It's not as much benefit to try to run that type of pressure.

Unless you get a small guard, two bigs can trap him, stuff like that...

In general, just by the interpretation, it took away some of the steam on that.

Q. You said earlier that these changes are going to be bad for basketball. If you truly believe that, why are we making these changes?

CURTIS SHAW: Well, I don't want to get in trouble, which I do at times. I say bad for basketball because I think you've now instead of facing the rule, writing a new interpretation of what a travel is, defining the difference, in college basketball the foot you have on the ground when you're in your dribble is called the one foot, then you're allowed the two foot, that's it.

Layup lines in pregame stuff technically are travels, because you have one foot on the ground, you go one, two. You get one, two, after the zero foot. That would have made all these plays legal, made it easy for referees to officiate, made it great for the media and the fans to understand what we were doing.

But now instead of taking a rule, putting it in, writing it properly, we came up with a rule that says technically they're not legal but lets just let them do it.

I was at a Baylor talking to Scott the other day, I don't know how you're going to guard him. If he's allowed to get a spin move where your defender is behind him, you can't touch him defensively, he can jump in the air and spin by, how are you going to stop the guy? He was very disappointed at how the national Rules Committee took it.

We only do what we're told. We don't have a voice on that committee. We do our input; but when they close the door and vote, we have no say so. We have to adopt and do what they want. If it doesn't work out, hopefully in two years, we have a new national coordinator coming in, we'll have new members of the thing, maybe they'll address it differently if they see it's harming the game.

Thank you all very much. Hope to see everybody during the season. Thanks.