Davidson’s Bob McKillop, Charlotte’s Mark Price shrug at proposed NCAA rules changes

Recent proposed rule changes to speed up and increase scoring in college basketball might not have much effect on Mecklenburg County’s two Division I programs.

“If they change things, we’ll all adapt,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. “I’m not sure we needed to do anything to our sport, though. But I understand they want the game to move faster. It’s all worth a try.”

The NCAA basketball rules committee, reacting last week to criticism that the game has become too low-scoring and physical, recommended several changes for the 2015-16 season, including reducing the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds, trimming team timeouts from five to four per half and expanding the restricted area (where defensive players cannot draw a charge) from 3 to 4 feet.

McKillop, whose Wildcats won last season’s Atlantic 10 regular-season championship during their first season in the league, speaks from 26 years of experience at Davidson. His counterpart at Charlotte, Mark Price, is entering his first season as a college coach after eight seasons as an NBA assistant.

“It probably won’t make much of a difference to us, because I want us to be a pro-style, up-tempo offense anyway,” Price said. “And I’m used to less time than that (24 seconds in the NBA) on the shot clock anyway. Thirty seconds seems like extra time to me. It’s probably going to cut out a pass-and-a-half or two passes per possession, but that’s fine.”

A shorter shot clock also seems well suited for Davidson, which had one of the country’s eighth most-efficient offense last season.

“We want to score within seven or eight seconds,” McKillop said. “We might tinker with things a little bit, but we’d do that anyway because Atlantic 10 teams know more of what to expect from us now.”

McKillop thinks a 30-second shot clock might change defensive strategies.

“It will probably invite teams to put on a little more full-court pressure, extend the court a little,” he said. “Not necessarily with the intent on stealing the ball, but putting the brakes on the opponent, cutting into their time and the amount of time they’re in the halfcourt (offense).”

Price pretty much shrugged off the timeout reduction.

“With all the television timeouts (four per half), I think losing one for the coaches isn’t going to make much of a difference,” he said.

Said McKillop: “I don’t think it will take control away from the coach. There are enough media timeouts. It might take a little more of the strategy out of things.”

The recommendations still must be approved by the NCAA playing rules oversight panel, which will meet June 8.

McKillop, whose team was one of college basketball’s pleasant surprises last season, really doesn’t think any tinkering needs to be done to the game.

“It’s like everyone’s alarmed at the game,” he said. “I saw so many exciting games last season. I was blown away by it, just as a fan, watching the drama and the excitement.

“But it always seems like we’re trying to pull the magic out of the bottle and spread it around.”

This story was originally published May 18, 2015 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Davidson’s Bob McKillop, Charlotte’s Mark Price shrug at proposed NCAA rules changes."