BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TIPOFF MEDIA DAY

October 18, 2023

Curtis Shaw

Media Day Press Conference

CURTIS SHAW: Good to see everybody again. It's always a fun time in the fall because it means basketball season is starting, and that's what for 35 years I've done and what I love.

It's going to be another great year in the Big 12, by far the best conference in the country, by far the hardest conference in the country to officiate, but one that all the officials in the country really look forward to working.

In six of the last seven years, we've had eight or nine of the 11 officials selected for the Final Four all work Big 12 conference games, so it shows we're doing the right things. We're getting the right staff, and we're promoting things in the right way, so we're excited about that.

In my 35 years, there's probably never been a rules year that's more important than this one. The rules committee really took a big step, really took a big stand to change the rule and change the interpretation of a rule that's been around forever. I've been on the road visiting 11 of our 14 schools, see the other three next week, and this is all I've stressed to them.

The block charge play, which has always been controversial, always been extremely difficult to referee, has changed drastically.

The rules committee basically has said, we don't like the rule. We don't believe the charge on a secondary defender should be allowed. We think that's bad defense. The ball handler beats a primary defender, he goes and makes his move, and as he starts to go in the air, somebody can slide in front of him and he can't alter what he's doing. So they really wanted to address how to do that.

Part 2 of that is the ball handler/dribbler. We've seen over the years and we'll show clips of how we've allowed the defensive player to be guarding a guy and then get sideways and just kind of run into him, and we were calling them charges.

The rule said you're allowed to maintain position, slide to maintain your legal position, but you still must beat the offensive player to the spot, and that's what we weren't doing. So we're going to show some clips. It's going to be drastically different.

What I've told our coaches and what I want the media to understand, we watched 100 plays from last year that were called charges. 100. 96 of them are now blocks under the new rule. It's almost impossible to take a legal charge anymore. Not impossible but almost.

We'll show you some clips to get go. Are we ready?

First play is the perfect example of what last year was an easy call. All the defensive player had to do was get in front before the offensive player's toe paused. Left toe left the floor. This year that defensive player has to be there before that left toe touches the floor. As you can see, the defender is still trying to get there, and his right foot is not set, not down, it's a blocking foul.

This is difficult. It's going to be bang-bang. But what the national rules committee has said, what the national coordinator has said, if it's difficult, it's a block. Your default call is a block.

If there's any doubt, there's a block.

As one guy put it on the rules committee, unless my grandmother is sitting in the 10th row can say, oh, that man was standing there forever, it's a block. So these plays that in the past technically were charges are now all going to be blocks.

It's making coaches teach a different way. We've talked about it with our coaches. It's making verticality more important instead of trying to draw a charge. Part of it is it's not good defense. Secondary, let it run. It's running over the guy and falling to the floor, so you've got a health and safety hazard.

Another example, and the replay gives you an even better idea of what we're talking about. Pause. In order for this to be a charge, the defensive player would have to have both feet on the floor and dead stationery, because the blue kid's plant foot has already hit the ground.

So the new rule is the defense must be set and stationary before the offensive player plant foot touches the ground. In the past it was before it left the floor. That plant foot can mean a toe, a heel, or a whole foot.

Again, it's going to be almost impossible as a secondary defender to get there in time.

Here's a perfect example of the play. Pause. The defensive player would have to be there, stationery, both feet on the floor before that left foot of No. 11 touches the ground. In the past all he had to do was get there before it left the ground. That's about a three tenths, four tenths second difference. It's a drastic time frame. Almost can't get there to draw a secondary charge. As I talk to coaches on plays, down the funnel. So plays coming from the side or the front almost cannot get there.

The second part of why the rules committee wanted it is because of right there, risk of injury.

Here's the play we're finding you can get legal defensively. It seems like a baseline drive, because of the distance the secondary defender comes or because of the angle the offense is coming in, you can get there and get set. So we're finding that the baseline -- the four plays that weren't incorrect from last year are these baseline drives, and the defender can get there and get set before the -- on this play it's not even his right foot. He steps again with his left foot, but the defender is set.

The other play that's hard is these, the floaters. By the time the floater hits the defensive player, it looks like he's been there forever. Again, forget the restricted area. We want to show the type of play.

But on this play you can see that when the offensive player -- right there, before his left foot hit the ground, 14 had to already be there. He's not. He's I'll moving, he's still sliding.

When I say be there, that means the defense has to have both feet on the floor standing there to draw the charge. Not still sliding over, not still getting set or braced up.

Again, injury factor.

Another example of a floater. Looks like he's there forever, but you have to be there before the offensive player's plant foot, right there, hits the ground.

What are we telling referees? How do you referee this play? You simply peripherally are watching the dribbler ball handler. When you see him gather his dribble, look to the defense, because if he's not set then, there's no way he's going to get set before the plant foot hits.

Again, the default call is a block. Very rarely we see a charge.

Another one that looks tough. Coming down the middle, in the old days, easy charge. Now, blocking foul. Second part of it is the ball handler/dribbler. The rule says once you establish initial position both feet on the floor facing, you can slide to maintain that position. Our old administration kind of started leaking towards, well, as long as they're initially legal, they can slide no matter what happens, it's a charge.

But the rules committee says, that's not what the rule says. What the rule says, you can slide to maintain, but you still must beat the offensive player to the spot. Here's great examples of what we were calling charges, and truly they should have never been.

In order for this defense to be legal and to draw a charge, he would have to get his left foot, his lead foot on the ground in front of the ball handler/dribbler. Definitely doesn't do that. He's beside him. The offensive player has got him beat a quarter of a step. As he tries to turn, defense throws their body in and goes down.

What have we told coaches? Don't go to the floor. The defensive player, if he goes to the floor, 99 percent of the time is going to get called for a block. What do we do? How do we guard? The defensive player has to stay physical. He has to stay walled up. He has to keep his body between his player and the basket, which is how they taught defense back in our day.

In order to do that, this defender, instead of drawing contact and falling down, just needs to keep sliding down toward the L. Stay physical. Slide down. Make the offensive player throw up some goofy shot. But if you take contact and go to the floor, you're going to get a blocking foul.

Another one that looks like a pretty easy charge. In the old days we'd call it a charge every time. But now, by the time contact initiates, the defensive player's right foot must be on the ground in front of the offensive player and beat him to the spot. He doesn't do it. So coaches say, well, what about his arm, what about his whatever. None of that matters if the defense is not legal. So if the defense is not there legally, even though I may lead with my arm, doesn't matter.

Shoving off extension, dipping your shoulder into a legal player and displacing him will still be called, but on a play like this, the defense is not legal.

Another example coming down this lane line. Closer, but what does the defense do? Instead of beating him to the spot, drawing in the chest, he just runs into him from the side. His lead foot is close to being legal, but all he's doing is running into him going down. So how do I defend? Just keep sliding down toward the Final Four sign. Don't go down. Take it in the chest, be physical, and slide to maintain your position. But when you go to the floor, you're going to get a block.

Here's a play, we're going to show three looks. The first two, everybody in here goes, this is a charge. He shoves him off. I'm going to show you what it really looks like when you get down to basics. Defensive player doesn't beat him to the stop. All he does is the offensive player is making a move on him, he gets slightly beat, he sticks his chest into him and then flies backwards. It's a blocking foul.

On the first two clips it looked like the offensive guy wards him off. As we finish this you'll see he doesn't. All he is going is gathering his dribble. This is a blocking foul. Unless the defender gets his left foot on the ground in front of the offensive player, this is a block.

Shooter never does anything with his left arm. He's just gathering his dribble. Perfectly legal.

Same play. How we ever called it a charge the first time is wrong anyway because the defender is never legal, but this is what we've gotten to. Everybody, oh, he's sliding to maintain. No. He's not. He slides into the offensive player and initiates the contact. Same play here on the baseline. Defense initiating all the contact. Never legal, never in front. These are blocks.

The play we're finding you can do it is similar to the first clips on a sideline baseline drive. When you look at this defender, he actually does what he's supposed to, gets his right foot on the ground in front of the offensive player, takes the contact in the torso. This is a charge.

These are the few examples where you will still get a charge. Both of them are sideline baseline drives. Everything down the funnel is a block. Your default call is a block. Coaches have said, well -- well, coaches are the rules committee. This is what they want.

So how do we defend? You have to go vertical on the shooter. You have to go 8A. I'm telling coaches, when you're a defensive player, sees the offensive player gather his dribble, come to a jump stop and go vertical. Go 8A. On these plays here, the ball handler/dribbler, slide to maintain but stay standing up. Don't fall. Stay physical. Wall the shooter into a bad shot.

There's a couple other little tweaks this year, none of which matter. That's what's going to matter this year. It's going to drastically change the game. It'll take a little while for the players to get used to it. We've watched it in practice so far, and they're getting used to it. So don't fall down is our main key.

Any questions?

Q. From what I'm kind of understanding, you're encouraging players to be physical without trying to draw the charge foul, so how are officials told to kind of monitor the physicality before it becomes a foul in that sense?

CURTIS SHAW: One of the coaches on the rules committee said, we want you to be physical legally. So stay on your feet and guard using your body. If the offensive player is coming into you, you're going to have contact. But as long as you're not initiating or driving somebody backwards or down, that's okay. That's legal contact. Nobody said basketball is not contact. In this day and age, it's more contact than ever. But as long as it's legal defensive contact, it's okay.

So what we're telling the referees is go back to the old days. Our old administration didn't like saying this, but the new one does and I'm glad because it's how I referee, it's advantage/disadvantage. Did the offensive and/or defensive player displace his opponent with excessive contact. Did he gain an advantage by the amount of contact. That's a foul. If it's two 280-pound guys and they're hitting each other, let them hit. One of the other members of the rules committee talked about the flop that came in which was a disaster. We didn't know what to do. We had goofy plays breaking the game up.

I will tell you in the Big 12 the only flop calls you're going to see is when a jump shooter shoots and clearly nobody around him and he goes flying to the floor. That's a flop. That's a technical foul. But when you have contact in the post, contact on these drives, it's contact. It's not a flop. It's not faking anything. Rule it a block or a charge.