Talk of shorter season circulating

The Men's Basketball Enhancement Group wants the NCAA to shorten the rigors of the basketball season by eliminating a regular-season game.

But Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams, rival coaches at Duke and North Carolina, may have a better idea: Just push back the start date.

"I would not be against - and in fact, would favor - starting practice Nov. 1, and not playing the first game until the Friday after Thanksgiving," said Williams, whose team opens the college basketball season the earliest it ever has - on Monday.

Said Krzyzewski: "We started [practice] Oct. 16. [If] we started Nov. 1 but have a little more of a buildup - you might work out three times a week, and they get weekends [off] and stuff like that - they're not as tired, they can keep up with their studies. But I would not eliminate any games."

Now, teams can play 29 regular-season games, or 27 if they play in an exempt tournament in which up to four games are "counted" as two. Including league and NCAA tournaments, that means a team playing in the national title game could compete in up to 41 games (UNC, the reigning national champion, played 38 last season and 39 in 2007-08, when the Tar Heels were the national runners-up).

The NCAA's Legislative Council in January will consider a proposal that trims that by one. It's meant to "reduce missed class time during the playing season and promote better academic performance for men's basketball student-athletes," according to the rationale submitted by the Academic Enhancement Group.

The proposal also includes a staggered practice schedule that would allow teams to work out with their coaches eight hours during the first week of October and 12 hours the second week before the usual 20-hour practice weeks commence on Oct. 15. That mandate could particularly help freshman acclimate to the court and the classroom, and the three Triangle coaches seem to like the idea of a buildup.

But in some respects, that lengthens the season by two more weeks.

And when it comes to cutting a game, N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe asked, "Will it really make that big of a difference?"

One fewer game might mean one fewer road trip - which translates to fewer missed classes. But as Duke guard Jon Scheyer said, student athletes learn how to balance both, and "guys want to play in games - especially players who want to get to the next level, where the regular season is 82 games. Speaking for myself, I'd add more games to the season, if I could."

There are also potential financial implications if a game gets cut. UNC associate athletics director Larry Gallo and N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said their schools would likely try to eliminate a road game if the schedule is reduced, because they couldn't really afford to cut one at home. The Tar Heels, for example, gross $500,000 to $600,000 per home game in tickets alone, on average.

"If we play one fewer home game, it affects field hockey, it affects baseball, it affects everything we do here," Williams said, referring to the fact that basketball revenue helps run non-revenue sports programs. "... So that's something that should be thought of as well."

Starting the season later, however, has its minuses, too. Coaches are already known to grumble when they occasionally have to pack three games into a week; that would happen more often if you moved the beginning date back two or three weeks. Plus, there are TV contract issues to deal with; Carolina's game against Florida International on Monday kicks off the regular season - on ESPNU.

Shane Lyons, the ACC's associate commissioner for compliance, said the league this month will gather member schools' positions on all of the proposals for the Legislative Council, including the one that would eliminate a regular-season game and stagger the practice schedule. The conference's opinion on the matter will be based on the schools' positions.

If the Legislative Council adopts the proposal in January, the Board of Directors would review it the same month. If the Board had no objections, it would be passed and go into effect on August 1, 2010, for the 2010-11 season, according to the NCAA.

Although it appears that some local coaches might suggest some tweaks.

"When we talk about length, I don't think they should do number of games," Krzyzewski said. "Kids want to play games. I think that's a big mistake, and also financially, that's a big payday every game. They can shorten the season, the practice time."

Dribbles

When "Jump Around" starting blaring from the sound system during UNC's pre-game exhibition game Friday night, even Williams seemed perplexed when he turned around and saw none of his players doing the "Danny Dance" - a series of gyrations former wing Danny Green used to perform as the starting lineup took the floor. But not to worry, Tar Heels fans: Justin Watts, who took over Green's dance moves last year, plans to bring them back before Monday's season-opener.

N.C. State and UNC played closed scrimmages against Division I teams during the preseason, allowing for only one exhibition game. Duke played two exhibitions. Why?

"The pros are, you get to play in front of a crowd, which I think is good - to get accustomed to playing in front of a crowd," Krzyzewski said. "If you play good opponents ... if we can play the national champion from the year before in Division II, we will always play them, so you are playing against a well-coached team that's coming off an unbelievable year. ... Plus, the money for our athletic department. There are a lot of sports here that have to be funded.

"... I think scrimmaging [a Division I team] is good, but we're fine doing it this way."

Let me get this straight: Kentucky freshman John Wall gets at least $787.58 worth of unofficial recruiting trips paid for by an AAU coach/agent and is suspended for one regular-season game (he also sat out an exhibition game and has to pay back the money). Duke guard Nolan Smith plays in an unsanctioned summer league where his only "benefit" is some sweat and competition, and he's suspended for two games. Really, NCAA?

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