Football
Andy Katz, ESPN Senior Writer 21y

Expanding not a winning move for every conference

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany is well-aware of a possible ACC power play. But the Big Ten isn't going to expand just because the ACC might go to 12 teams. He's not waiting to see what the ACC, Big East or any other major conference does in the wake of possible moves by Miami, Syracuse and Boston College to the ACC.

"We don't look at the ACC, SEC or the Big 12 to try and help us understand what is good for ourselves," Delany said.

Delany responded this week to speculation, which has run rampant nationally, that the Big Ten would scoop up Pittsburgh if the ACC goes to 12 teams and the Big East is left in ruins. Adding the Panthers -- or any other Division I football program -- would allow the Big Ten (12?, no that's already taken) to have a championship game in football. But the 11-team league doesn't appear to be moving in that direction anytime soon.

The Big Ten has made overtures to adding Notre Dame a couple times, most recently in 2001, but has been spurned by the Irish each time. That doesn't mean the Big Ten has to look to Pittsburgh to replace the Irish for the championship game, but Big East teams with football strongholds may be looking for new homes if the ACC takes Miami, BC and Syracuse.

"There are positives about the championship game -- like it being a great promotional device and a great revenue device," Delany said. "But the downside is that it lengthens the season and it's harder to win the national championship. It damages a very good team. The SEC and Big 12 aren't going to give it up, but every year there is talk that it's a burden."

Ohio State won the national title in football last January, but didn't have to play Iowa in a Big Ten title game that could have derailed the Buckeyes from getting to the final game.

All the talk about football championship games for the ACC and beyond makes it clear that expansion is solely done for football. The residual effect is felt in all sports, and scheduling in basketball is not easy with 11, 12, 14 or 16 teams. There are no-plays within the league for some like the Big Ten and Big East and in the Big 12 and SEC, there is a scheduling imbalance with home-and-road advantages since every team doesn't play each other twice.

"You don't expand to get easier scheduling," Delany said. "Eleven teams isn't easy to schedule in men's basketball."

"Basketball creates challenges," Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said. "You lose the ability to play a double-round robin schedule and have to go to a divisional structure of scheduling."

Expansion worked for the SEC when it added Arkansas. The Big 12 got Texas when it added four schools from the defunct Southwest Conference to join the then eight-team Big Eight. Florida State didn't hurt the ACC when it became the ninth member. Even just adding Miami for a 10th would be fine. ACC basketball coaches aren't against simply expanding by one with Miami and playing 18 league games instead of 16. ACC football coaches probably wouldn't mind if the Hurricanes were the only team added, too, considering it would give them more bowl opportunities and another chance -- with Florida State -- at a national title game.

But a 10-team football league doesn't get it a championship football game. The magic number is 12, and expanding beyond 10 will hurt the ACC in men's basketball.

Gone would be the true round-robin schedules and the legitimate regular-season champion. Rivalries will be diluted. Access to the NCAA Tournament, and at times the conference tourney, becomes harder. Simply put, ACC men's basketball will be worse off if it adds three teams.

And, if this ACC experiment becomes a reality, the shakeup will be monumental.

The Big East will cease to exist as we know it with the potential for a breakup with the football and basketball schools. Conference USA could be rocked with some members defecting, and others being added to replace the departed. The WAC could pick up a few teams and so could the Mountain West -- if it were to grab a team or two out of the WAC. The Atlantic 10 could look entirely different, too.

All of this could shake out for the 2004-05 season at the earliest, but more likely the 2005-06 season because of football scheduling. There would be BCS issues and certainly affect automatic conference bids to the NCAA Tournament.

Miami is the domino that could make it all fall.

The Big 12 and SEC have issues with their schedules. They make it work, get the money for football, but have struggled with the balance of keeping everyone content. The WAC proved that 16 teams were too many when it broke into two leagues. Conference USA and the Big East know that 14 is too large, as well. But they'd rather stand pat then get raided and see their whole league collapse.

But don't expect the Big Ten, and for that matter, the Pac-10 to follow along. Appearing to be smarter than the rest, each understands that expanding just to expand isn't always the answer. And, bigger isn't always better when it comes to conference affiliation.

A little international flavor
The rules committee is hoping they have found a way to develop more Dirk Nowitzki-type players in college. It wants big men who can shoot, pass and learn the footwork necessary to play a variety of positions. They don't want any more brutes.

Will it work?

It might take more than a rule change, but the committee hopes that this is a start.

The committee voted to push back the 3-point line, widen the lane and hope the changes make players work on their face-the-basket game more. By pushing the arc back to 20 feet, 6ΒΌ inches from 19-9. The lane was widened and will look like a trapezoid akin to the international game, widening it by 3 feet and 11 inches. The current rectangle is 12 feet wide. The championship committee will vote on the rules June 24-26 in Bonita Springs, Fla.

"It will force 6-10 guys to do the kinds of things that Nowitzki does," Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said of the Dallas Mavericks star. "We've got to catch up to those (international) guys."

Gottfried was one of many coaches endorsing the rules committee. And the committee didn't take this job lightly. The new rules weren't devised in a banquet room, but rather on the IUPUI court in Indianapolis -- the same site as the Nike All-American camp. The committee drew up lines for college, international and NBA to see the difference. It then put 10 people on the floor to make sure there was enough spacing between the new lane's dimensions and proposed 3-point arc.

"It really made us think about it," said Rice coach Willis Wilson, one of the committee members. "We had people posting up to see how that worked. We checked to make sure there were enough space to make cuts to the basket from the baseline and the wing."

The impetus was the international game. No one that the committee spoke to prior to the meeting had a bad word to say about the international game. Surely, the United States' poor performance at the World Championships in Indianapolis last summer contributed to the movement to change the college game.

"The European game is more skilled," Wilson said. "The 6-7, 6-8 players and up are more skilled."

Wilson said the committee saw the college game becoming too physical. So, the logical step was to make it more of a finesse game. But that could mean the end of true low-post play.

For example, the Baylor coaching staff is concerned that Lawrence Roberts, their primary inside player, had just gotten used to being a low-post presence. The wider lane means he'll likely revert back to looking for his shot facing the basket, rather than developing his low-post moves even more in the offseason.

The committee claims the wider lane and the deeper 3-point shot will lead to better passing around the perimeter, improved footwork and the ability to pass the ball out of the post. It is not worried that officials won't call the three-seconds violation just as close as they would with a rectangle lane.

"There will be better spacing, better angles and better ball movement," Wilson said.

As for the effect on shooters? Players shouldn't struggle to make the longer 3-point shot. Many of them take NBA 3s in the hope they could make the jump to the League. But the wider lane should have an effect on the game. The rules committee has tried to place an emphasis on officials to call rough play. Now, they've apparently given the players a chance to take the roughness out of the game by changing the way players will play in the post.

"The lane was six feet in 1956 when it was widened to 12 feet and over the last 47 years the athletes have changed," Wilson said. "Players have trained better and gotten bigger and stronger. The game is faster and that's why the lane was changed before because the players got too big. The same thing is happening now."

What else we're hearing
At St. Bonaventure ... The toughest part of Anthony Solomon's sessions to get acquainted with his new players is finding out who wanted to quit and why last season. He can't afford to dump the underclassmen who didn't want to play the final two games of the season, but they actually have to prove to him that they want to be in the program before he is fully committed to them.

At Maryland ... The Terps are finalizing their schedule. Maryland returns the game at Florida next season. Maryland also will join Gonzaga, George Washington and possibly West Virginia in the BB&T Classic in D.C. in December. And, there is a chance that Gary Williams could go against his former team, Ohio State, in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Matchups for that event are far from being set.

At Creighton ... Dana Altman had a 10-year deal to ponder while waiting word from Iowa State. Staying with the Bluejays would make sense and that's the direction he could be leaning. Iowa State might not be ready to commit a longterm deal after having to pay Larry Eustachy a hefty buyout in the second year of a 10-year deal.

At Cincinnati ... The Bearcats could lose Robert Whaley before they even decide what to do with him. Whaley was arrested on a felony charge after his involvement in a brawl with other students at Barton County College (Kan.). The case is pending, but the Bearcats won't admit him until the situation has been resolved, and if the felony charge sticks then he's done before stepping on the court. Whaley originally signed with Missouri before legal troubles at home in Michigan sent him to junior college. But Whaley is an NBA draft candidate and could declare Monday and make the Cincinnati issue moot. Junior college players are ineligible for four-year schools once they declare for the draft.

At San Diego State ... The Aztecs were a lock to be predicted to finish among the top three in the Mountain West next season. But that was before Evan Burns went down with a torn ACL this week. Burns will be out until January and, even then, his effectiveness is unknown. Meanwhile, 6-7 junior Travis Hanour had surgery April 14 to alleviate chronic tendonitis. Seven-foot junior center Chris Manker had knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, but he should be back for summer workouts. Burns, who was going up for a dunk when the injury occured, had even more damage in his left knee. He tore his meniscus and suffered a bone contusion. Burns was the MWC freshman of the year. Burns was the first McDonald's all-American to play at San Diego State. He averaged 9.2 points and 5.1 boards. Burns, who once signed with UCLA but wasn't eligible on time for the Bruins, helped lead the Aztecs to a 16-14 record and the NIT.

At Fordham ... The three most important factors for finding a coach for the Rams are: someone who understands the academic demands at Fordham, has New York connections, and who is hungry to win. All of those factors could lean toward an assistant coach after getting burned by the Bob Hill experiment.

At Cal State-Fullerton ... In addition to the host of Pac-10 assistants, former Lakers coach Paul Westhead and L.A. City College coach Mike Miller are being mentioned as possible successors to Donny Daniels.

In recruiting ... Three of the most hotly contested unattached transfers remaining are -- one-time Georgia signee Mohamed Abukar, who has Louisville, Florida and Kentucky high on his list; Western Kentucky guard Patrick Sparks and Georgia Tech wing Ed Nelson. The latter two players will need to sit out a year, but would be instant hits at their new home. Sparks can now freely transfer after a ban on going to someone on the Hilltoppers' schedule was lifted. Nelson is looking to head to his native Northeast to either Connecticut or Boston College.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball is updated Fridays throughout the year.

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