Time Out!

I've watched probably too much college basketball the last couple of weeks. March Madness has taken hold. (And let me just say congratulations to the Maryland women's team, which only moments ago beat Utah to reach their first Final Four since 1989.) Somehow I missed the big George Mason/UConn game yesterday, but have otherwise seen enough last second three pointers, upsets, and dejected Duke players walking off the court for the last time to be very satisfied with this year's postseason.

That being said, there is one thing that drives me crazy about college basketball (besides the spate of annoying Coach K commercials): the sudden rash of time outs called while players are leaping out of bounds, rolling around on the floor after loose balls, and otherwise falling, jumping or squirming somewhere on the court. Time out!

There once was a time when, if a player was teetering out of bounds and called a time out to preserve possession of the ball, the announcers would declare it a "heads up play" and state that the kid was obviously a "student of game" or some such platitude. Now every time a player is off balance, surrounded by defenders, or diving after a loose ball, he automatically calls a time out. No matter what the situation, what stage of the game, or how valuable the time out, you can be certain to see two or three of these wasted time outs every game. Not every possession is equal, but time out callers don't seem to think that way.

I think the rule that allows players to call these time outs should be changed. Mainly because they annoy me. But there is a reason for that (besides the fact that Duke probably calls more of these pointless timeouts than anyone): these time outs are the lazy player's best friend. It takes more skill to save a ball that is going out of bounds than to make a T with one's hands while leaping out of bounds. It takes more skill to catch a ball bouncing out of bounds and throwing it hard off an opponent to preserve a possession, than it does to call time. It takes more strength to scrum for a loose ball than to call time out as soon as the ball just gets into one's possession. It's lazy. It's boring. And now that everyone does it no matter the situation, it's annoying.

If I could, I would change the rules to require that, with the exception of the last two minutes of each half (if that), a player must have both feet firmly on the floor when calling time out. No more time outs while in the air or prone on the hardwood. This would force players to make better decisions with the ball, and remove the lazy player's crutch. Time outs are a precious commodity that should not be wasted. But that's not the point. Players should be forced to make plays, not be given an out to avoid making them.