Twenty years ago, the NCAA decided to add a line on the basketball court that would make a shot worth three points instead of two if a player shot behind it.
This new rule completely changed how basketball games were played. Now, after 20 years, the NCAA has made another change in the rules effecting the three point line; it has been moved back one foot.
There is a saying in basketball: "you live by the three; you die by the three." What it means is teams who rely on making a large number of three pointers in a game have to face the fact that some games they will just be off and will not make as many shots as the night before.
Teams can win or lose games as a result of a couple of players' hot or cold streaks from behind the three-point line.
A team cannot consistently maintain a high level of three point shooting throughout an entire season because some nights the athletes are just off. The NCAA moving the line back means that those nights, the ones that teams are off, can prove to be very bad because the three pointer is now even harder to make.
In the NBA, a three point line is about five feet behind the original college stripe, but now if one looks at a college floor they will see two lines.
The first is the women's three point line. That line has stayed the same with the rule change. The men's line, for every NCAA division, is a foot behind that.
The move is to discourage players from shooting as much as they were, however, what change will it really make?
So far the men's basketball team has played eight games, including three exhibition games. All eight have had the new line and the team has shot 33 percent from behind it. This compares to about 34 percent for the entire last season.
The best the team shot last year was 56 percent; however, they only attempted nine three pointers. This season, the lowest the team has shot from behind the arc was 10 percent when they went 1-10 against St. Louis University.
Last season, the lowest mark the team reached was 0 percent … twice. Once was against Southern Indiana and the other time was against Missouri S&T.
An interesting trend this year is that the team's total shooting percentage, meaning shots from all over the floor, has been close to 20 percent higher in every game.
A year ago, the Tritons shot about 10 percent higher from all over the floor than they did from behind the three point line.
What does all of this mean? Well, the move back will definitely make it harder to make three point shots. However, the attempts are actually up from last year at this time.
Only a full season will tell if the change has significantly changed the mindset of college players, but so far, it does not seem that way. The change is a good one, but the NCAA should be careful with making changes like these.
The change was designed to slow down three-point shots, but three-point shots are what make college basketball so much fun.
Teams live and die on the three, and nothing is more energizing to a team and a stadium than seeing a three pointer go in to tie a game up. People literally hold their breath at the end of games as a player tries to tie or win the game by hitting a three pointer.
Basketball needs this excitement, and the attempt by the NCAA to squelch it should be watched closely.
The one foot move was good because it did not go too far back and players can still make a three pointer coming out of a high school system that has the old three point line.
However, any further moves back of the line would be detrimental to the game, and should not happen.
The Tritons are adjusting to the new rule nicely. Games will look very similar to those of last year, which is good for the game of basketball as a whole.
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