wednesday, october 8,2003
sports
the university daily kansan. 5P
Three-point line to be bumped back
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS - The three-point line in college basketball is about to be moved 9 inches farther from the basket beginning in the 2004-05 season.
Barring unexpected dissent by the NCAA's two smallest divisions, the new line will be set at 20 feet. 6 inches.
The championships committees of all three divisions decided to keep the rectangular free throw lane, rejecting a switch to the trapezoidal lane used internationally.
"In Division I, it's essentially done," Marty Benson, the NCAA liaison to the basketball
rules committee, said Tuesday.
"In Division II and III, the management councils have to look at it and either approve what the championships committee did or change what the championships committee did."
Earlier this year, South Carolina coach Dave Odom, a rules committee member, said the extra 9 inches might discourage marginal shooters from taking longer shots.
"That would make the shot more meaningful," he said.
The management councils meet Oct. 21-22. If they agree, the changes in all three divisions will take effect in the 2004-05 season. If they don't,
the matter will be decided by the NCAA executive committee Oct. 31.
That committee's options include approving the change for only the divisions that passed it, approving it for all three divisions or rejecting it for all three. Benson said.
It's unlikely Divisions II and III will not go along, he said.
Another proposal would cut from 16 to eight the number of predetermined sites for the first two rounds of the women's Division I tournament.
If approved by the Division I management council and the executive committee, that change would take effect for the 2005 tournament.
"It's just the evolution of the championship. It creates more neutral sites for the championship," said Scotty Rogers, assistant director of the Division I women's basketball championship committee. "You have a little more neutrality when only one of those teams could potentially play at home."
The men's first and second rounds already are played at eight sites.
"The only difference, and it's a major difference, is that the women's proposal is for predetermined sites, meaning the host institution could play at home," Rogers said. "The men's tournament does not allow that."
Coach's summit to address ethics
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Despite the controversy swirling around his program, Missouri coach Quin Snyder said he has no qualms about attending a National Association of Basketball Coaches summit on ethical concerns next week.
In response to several scandals in the past six months, the NABC is requiring NCAA Division I men's head basketball coaches to attend a summit Oct. 15 in Chicago. The summit will focus on accountability and ethical conduct of all NCAA coaches.
Missouri has appointed an engineering professor to oversee a probe into allegations former basketball player Ricky Clemons received improper academic help and financial assistance before he was kicked off the team in July.
The NCAA also is reviewing the athletic department, although the NCAA and Missouri officials have repeatedly declined to comment on specifics of the investigation.
After speaking to the Tiger Club on Tuesday in Kansas City, Snyder said he had received only calls of support from his coaching
"The situation is serious," Snyder said. "But it can be serious without being devastating."
Clemons, 23, was sentenced to 60 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to choking a woman and holding her against her will at his apartment in January.
peers.
"I'm fully willing to take responsibility for the mistakes we've made," Snyder said. "I'm a 36-year-old head coach. There are some things you learn as you're coming up.
Snyder told the Missouri boosters that the basketball program is cooperating with the NCAA investigation but declined again to discuss specifics. He said he and other staff members would learn from the mistakes that had been made, correct them and move on.
"I'm proud of my team. I'm proud of my program," he said. "I'll just be who I am (at the meeting)."
Kobe to make court appearance tomorrow
The Associated Press
"If they have the hearing the public is going to hear basically all the details of what happened that night and it's going to be told from the prosecution's perspective," said Karen Stein-
EAGLE, Colo. — Attorneys in the Kobe Bryant case huddled with the judge Tuesday but didn't answer the biggest question: Will the NBA star waive his preliminary hearing to keep potentially damaging evidence
That decision might not be made until minutes before Thursday's hearing, where prosecutors will present evi-
from being heard publicly?
Bryant
Though everyone involved in the case has been silenced by a gag order, many legal analysts expect the defense to waive the preliminary hearing and acknowledge there is enough evidence for a judge to order a trial.
dence they say proves Bryant raped a young hotel worker in his room at a mountain lodge on June 30.
hauser, a former prosecutor and law professor at the University of Denver.
"There's a lot of unfavorable evidence going to be brought out in public."
Another reason for waiving the hearing is that the defense has little to gain, said Denver defense attorney Dan Recht.
"There's no way the defense will win a preliminary hearing. No way, None." Recht said.
Even if the hearing is waived, Bryant must appear Thursday in front of Judge Frederick Gannett for a bail hearing.
Bryant, free on $25,000 bail, would also at some point have to appear in another court to enter a plea to the sexual assault charge.
Bryant was in Hawaii this week, where the Los Angeles Lakers were training and playing their first exhibition games of the season.
The basketball star's attorneys met earlier in the day with prosecutors and Gannett for more than an hour, discussing what a court spokeswoman called logistical issues.
Exiting the courtroom, Gannett wouldn't comment, other than saying the issue of waiving the preliminary hearing was not discussed.
The Associated Press
City begins early preparations for Final Four
ST. LOUIS — Eighteen months away from the 2005 NCAA Men's Final Four in St. Louis, organizers are already getting serious.
Yesterday, a tournament logo featuring the Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River was unveiled. And about half of the seats have been allocated for the 2004 Regional final, which will serve as the warmup event for the next year's Final Four.
"It's right on top of us in many ways," said Doug Elgin, chairman of the organizing committee. "The unveiling is very symbolic of St. Louis really getting into its action plan."
The Final Four will be the first here since 1978, and is one of eight NCAA events being held in the city over a 12-year period. Other upcoming events: preliminary round NCAA tournament play in 2007 or '08 and the 2009 NCAA Women's Final Four.
The city also hosted the 2001 Women's Final Four. Organizers say it's proof of a revival in St. Louis, which has 1,100 hotel rooms in or near downtown.
"There's a real sense of excitement about this Regional, and we're delighted to show it off," said Frank Vivero, president of
the St. Louis Sports Commission.
Earlier Tuesday, NCAA representatives met with the St. Louis organizing committee for a four-hour seminar. The NCAA will be back in December for another visit.
"On one hand, it seems like it's still a long time," said Iowa athletic director Bob Bowlsby, chairman of the NCAA men's basketball committee. "It will be an active and busy 18 months."
About 21,000 tickets have been allocated for the 2004 St. Louis Regional. The Edward Jones Dome, which has a capacity of about 65,000 for St. Louis Rams games, will be configured for between 42,000 and 45,000 seats for the event.
The portable arena setup has been tweaked somewhat since the NCAA first and second rounds in 2002, the last events held in St. Louis, to provide for a more intimate feel. The setup will get a test run with a small college game Dec. 6 between Truman State and Harris-Stowe College, and the '04 Midwest Regional will provide for further fine-tuning.
"It is a basketball arena," Elgin said. "The customized seating makes it an arena."
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