Soft Pretzel Logic

So you've probably read the stories by now about how the NCAA men's basketball rules committee approved moving the three-point line back a foot from its current 19 feet, nine inches to 20 feet, nine inches.

I've thought about it for a while now and I guess I'm okay with it. I actually like the high percentage of three-point shots taken in the college game relative to the pros, as I think it has a lot to do with the emphasis on good shooting in the college game relative to the more drive-to-the-basket style of the NBA.

(Sorry if there are any Phoenix Suns fans out there, but you know you're the exception to the rule.)

Yeah, you get some big guys taking shots from the arc that they shouldn't. But you also get big guys who develop a good shot and add that to their game along with the ability to play the post well. Rob Ferguson and Curtis Sumpter come to mind right away. And I thought I heard about some player on Penn who's a three-point-shooting small forward, but since people think I write about Penn too much I'd better leave Mark Zoller out of this.

(Oops.)

Do I mind having good straight-up post players in the college game? Of course not. But the passing and shooting in college basketball is one of the main reasons why I prefer it so much to the NBA.

Now, having said that, I find a few problems with this particular decision. First is moving the line by a foot specifically. I can't quite figure out why that's the chosen distance, other than moving a foot for a foot's sake. While I don't want the line moved to the NBA distance, I would have rather seen the line be moved to the international distance of 20 feet, 6 inches. I wouldn't necessarily mind the expanded lane either.

If I had my way, I'd probably have the whole floor be the same as the international floor so that might, heaven forbid, help American basketball players become more used to what they'll see when they play at the world championships and the Olympics. I do find it rather embarrassing when the U.S. gets its clock cleaned by teams that play better basketball by teams that know how to pass, shoot, and use the arc and lane better.

Yes, some of this has to do with player selection, both in terms of who the coaches (and sponsors, ahem) pick, and in terms of which players conveniently decide not to play for the national team. But -- forgive me, please? -- I'd rather see the team that represents the country that invented the game be the smarter team on the floor.

(If you're a fan of the English national soccer team, this may sound familiar to you, but that's for another day and another blog.)

This discussion of the international distance brings me to my other complaint with the line change: the decision to not change the women's distance. Which will of course mean there will be two three-point lines on the floor. That isn't the reason why I'm against it, and I will not be drawn into a gender equity argument here or on the comments because gender has nothing to do with any of this, nor should it.

My problem is that the WNBA line is farther out from the college line. And if part of the point of moving the men's line back is to get closer to the professional line (which must surely have something to do with this), then I think the women's committee really ought to think along the same lines.

Now you might be wondering just what the WNBA line distance is. I had to go to Mel Greenberg to find out (and he had to call the league to find out), but I bet it won't surprise you.

It's not the NBA distance of 23 feet, nine inches.

It's 20 feet, six inches.

Sound familiar? Yep, it's the international distance (click here to see what it looks like -- I'd post it directly but it's not Creative Commons-licensed)

So given all of this, it really seems to me that the most logical thing would have been to move both lines to 20 feet 6 inches. The shooters of both genders would still make a reasonable number of shots, and maybe -- maybe -- it would help everyone involved start reconciling some of the differences between American and international basketball before the national team gets embarrassed again.

I really want to hear what you all have to say about this.