Geno Auriemma doesn't shy away from saying what's on his mind, and he made good use of his time on the microphone Saturday morning while speaking to reporters in Fort Worth. Auriemma pointed out that the scheduling of this year's Sweet Sixteen boggles the mind — and may be preventing players from performing at their best.
Auriemma read off three-point shooting from Friday, a list that wasn't exactly impressive. He then noted that each of the teams with lower than typical percentages typically average "over 30 for the season." So what was the problem Friday?
Auriemma pointed to the tournament's schdule. His team and the Louisville Cardinals were both forced to show up the arena at 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning, but didn't have practice until the evening. That left several hours between media call times and game times for players to essentially do nothing.
"This morning I just saw Notre Dame leaving, so they had media this morning. Their practice time is tonight at 5:30. What did you have to ask them this morning that you didn't ask them last night? Or us? You know what time our practice time is? 6:30 tonight," Auriemma said. "So we had to get our kids up, come over here. You already knew who we were playing last night, but we can't get on the court, and neither can the other teams. Walz had media at 7:30, I think."
Auriemma wondered aloud if the officials in charge of the scheduling asked coaches and teams if what they planned actually worked. He also questioned the location of the regional tournaments, and pointed out that they are rarely held in the Northeast, despite the fact that UConn has "gone to the Final Four no matter where the regional is."
On top of that, Auriemma added that he suspects new balls and rims are part of the reason why three pointers weren't going in the way they typically do. "I think they bring in new baskets, new basketballs right out of the box. Got people dribbling the ball off their feet," he said. "You got people missing
layups all over the place. You bounce the ball, and it goes up to the ceiling."
Geno Auriemma should be listened to
It's unclear if NCAA officials will take notice of what Auriemma is saying and implement changes, but his points are valid and important. Scheduling media interviews for early in the morning and then practices in the evening may accomodate some elements of the tournament, but it's difficult to make sense of why a team that just won game the night before would need to speak to media only ten to twelve hours later — especially when rest would be beneficial.
One of the main draws of the tournament, and something that brings fans in to watch in person, is excellent basketball. It's not too difficult to deduce that players may struggle on the court if they haven't had enough off time, and that impacts their performance. The women's game has never been this popular, but officials could end up impeding their own progress if the players on the court. If the goal is to offer the best basketball in the country, then the NCAA could be getting in their own way toward achieving exactly that.