Sound Off: In college basketball, why is the shot clock for the ... / LJWorld.com

Sound Off

Tom Keegan, Journal-World sports editor, provides this information: Men’s and women’s college basketball are two different sports with different sets of rules. The shot clock is designed to speed up the game. Those on the women’s college basketball rules committee feel that setting the clock at 30 seconds is the right way to do it. The men’s committee thinks 35 seconds is right for the men’s game, but discussion has come up from time to time about shortening the clock. Interestingly, the NBA has a shorter shot clock (24 seconds) than the WNBA (30 seconds). Another difference: The size of the basketball typically is one inch less in circumference in the women’s game than the men’s. This difference is based on the average man’s hand being larger than the average woman’s. Also, in men’s basketball, the ball must cross the halfcourt line within 10 seconds or a turnover is called. The rule is not part of women’s basketball.

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KS 1 year ago

I have noticed that the ball used by the women is smaller and therefore, the rim on the basket should be smaller. Not equal.

Jayhawk_4_Life 1 year ago

Their hands are smaller.

Pork_Ribs 1 year ago

Place the rim at 9' to allow them to play above the rim and I'm watching all the time. Without that...it's no different than High School Boys JV. It'll never happen given the arena's they have to play in, but I think that would make it a much more entertaining game. I have coached girls BB for 5 years and have a daughter on an elite AAU squad. My two cents.

hungryhustler 1 year ago

All highschool boys basketball (varsity, JV and freshman teams) play with a mens size ball.

blovescrib 1 year ago

No they do not.

Vinny1 1 year ago

uh, yes they do. If you don't know...don't talk.

blovescrib 1 year ago

I just hosted a HS Boys and girls State basketball championship. Boys use regular, girls 28.5.

DillonBarnes 1 year ago

Did you guys just fight over agreeing?

blovescrib 1 year ago

We did. my bad!

Fossick 1 year ago

That was epic.

emdawg10 1 year ago

The reason the women play with the same rim as the men is because the women actually play the game closer to the way it was intended. They play the fundamentals of basketball, the men need to have their rim raised to take away the dunking and lets see how they play when the above the rim game is gone. Whether a man dunks or a women shoots the ball it is still only 2 points. It would be interesting to watch the men play with the rim higher.

sylviejr 1 year ago

Pork_ribs, Britteny Griner. (And, I've heard, Aisha Sutherland, but she's graduating.)
Start watching, the women play faster and cleaner than the men.
But, don't tell anyone. It's more fun watching in Allen Field House when the stands aren't packed so tight that if you stand up to cheer, you lose your seat.

Vinny1 1 year ago

Then women play faster? lol you are either blind or have no idea what you're watching.

There is not a single women's sport in the world that is faster paced than its men's counterpart. Women's sports are generally "cleaner" though, because women play slower and are not as physical.

Pork_Ribs 1 year ago

+1 Thank you!

Lulu 1 year ago

I would like to see the men's basketball champions play the women's basketball champions and see who would actually win the game though there are no winners or losers since that is competition with a loser to rub in the faces of the opponent and that would promote agressions.

CHEEZIT 1 year ago

The closes it would be is 0-0!

Aiko 1 year ago

It makes the game harder to watch the longer the shot clock for women...

The_Big_B 1 year ago

I like watching the women's game, and don't find it at all boring to watch passing, movement away from the ball, and classic techniques. What I do find boring is watching 5 guys come down, spread out at the 3-point line and stand around until somebody finally flings one up, or somebody goes one-on-one, elbows his way toward the lane and flings one up as he falls into the goalpost. (... are you out there Sherron?)

The "team game" is a lot richer for me than the individual game.

Plus ... girls make their free throws. I would propose that any guy who shoots less than, say, 70% from the line, loses his scholarship. It may or may not be "because they have to", but girls play real basketball, as a real team game. I wouldn't mess with it.

whatadrag 1 year ago

2012 NCAA Division 1 Bball: Mens avg Free throw = 69.08% Womens avg Free throw = 68.93%

Source: http://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-women/d1

Easy_Does_It 1 year ago

Holy cow Tom, great answer. I think the person asking the question is interested in the why, they know it is different. If i asked why does a MLB manager tend to bring in a left hand pitcher to face a left hand batter in late innings you would you answer because the manager is free to choose who pitches?

sad_lawrencian 1 year ago

I don't know about the others, but I always pitch.

misplacedcheesehead 1 year ago

Women need less time to get the job done properly.

KU79 1 year ago

The smaller ball in today's women's game makes what Lynette Woodard did -- setting the all time women's scoring record -- with the larger ball all the more impressive. I was at KU at the same time as she, and they used to do double headers with the men on occasion. So getting to the arena early to get a good seat (it wasn't as tough in those days) you sometimes got to see the end of the women's game. She was incredible.