October 22, 2012|By JOHN ALTAVILLA,
jaltavilla@courant.com, The Hartford Courant
UNCASVILLE — — Geno Auriemma's coaching career at UConn has led to seven women's basketball national championships and 13 trips to the Final Four.
But when the Hall of Famer looks to the future, he sees many areas, within and outside the game, that could benefit from thought and change.
"The game hasn't grown as much as it should in the last 10 years and much of the old guard doesn't want to hear it," Auriemma said Monday after taping "Beyond The Beat," which airs Tuesday on CPTV Sports. "In 2002, we played the Final Four in front of 30,000 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
"Now, 10 years later [2011], we [the women's Final Four] can't sell out the Conseco Field House [in Indianapolis]? So how much has the game possibly improved, in terms of how badly people want to see it?"
Auriemma believes one of the ways to increase the game's appeal is by increasing offensive efficiency.
"What makes fans not want to watch women's basketball is that some of the players can't shoot and they miss layups and that forces the game to slow down," he said.
"How do help improve that? Lower the rim [from 10 feet]. Do you think the average fan knows that the net is lower in women's volleyball than men's volleyball? It's about seven inches shorter so the women have the chance for the same kind of success at the net [as the men]."
Auriemma equates the volleyball equation to basketball.
"Let's say the average men's player is 6-5 and the average woman is 5-11," Auriemma said. "Let's lower the rim seven inches; let's say 7.2 inches to honor Title IX [instituted in 1972]. If you lower it, the average fan likely wouldn't even notice it.
"Now there would be fewer missed layups because the players are actually at the rim [when they shoot]. Shooting percentages go up. There would be more tip-ins.
"This spring, I plan on proposing [to the rules committee] that the NCAA allow programs to keep their teams together in order to play scrimmages against an opponent, with the lower basket, with a 24-second shot clock and an eight-second backcourt rule, and see what happens."
Auriemma believes there aren't many coaches in the sport who would support such a change because they believe the level of athleticism in the game couldn't keep up with the faster game.
"Why is softball played on a different field than baseball?" Auriemma said. "Why don't they ask those women to play with 90-foot base paths?
"And I hate the smaller ball [that women use]. They either need to change the ball or change the rims. The bigger ball sits on the rim longer [for layups]. But no one wants to hear that.
"I wouldn't say this is an active topic of conversation among the coaches yet. But it's going to be [soon]."
Auriemma would also support selecting cities that would annually host the NCAA's four regionals and Final Fours in women's basketball, instead of moving them around.
"Omaha does it for baseball. Oklahoma City does it for softball," Auriemma said. "Why? Because people in those cities embrace the event, feel like it is theirs.
"Let me know the next time the lacrosse Final Four is played in San Diego, instead of Baltimore ... They don't move all over the country just to make people happy.
"I'd hold the women's Final Four in San Antonio and wouldn't go to a big city for any of the regionals. They don't care about [women's basketball]. It never works in a place like that.
"I'd look for places where people traditionally support the sport … Go places where people already love women's basketball. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say, when leaving a Final Four, 'Damn, I didn't know it would be like this [so exciting]. And next year, if we have it.' …. Well, you know what, you're not getting it next year or ever.
"The things that the sites learn [from hosting an event] are wasted because they may never get it back."
Auriemma would like to see the Final Four staged on Friday and Sunday, instead of Sunday and Tuesday, to help working fans better accommodate travel.
"The system is not working and when something isn't working, you should work to make changes," Auriemma said. "If the changes don't work, well at least you tried. It's a lot better than just complaining about everything all the time."
