RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2019 Team rankings | 2019 Position rankings
2020 Rivals150 | 2020 Position rankings
Inside McDonald's Nuggets, we make a case for changing the video-review process, name the Team of the Week and double down on a previous prediction.
MORE: Last week's Nuggets | 3-Point Play | Wednesday Leftovers
HOT TAKE: Video-review process needs to be fixed
I know you have been right there with me on this subject. You have been watching a big college basketball game lately, whether it involves your team or a game you were just casually watching. The game was relatively close late and there were a number of stoppages in the game for the same reason: video review.
College basketball really needs to get this under control. It kills the flow of the game and it is not good for the fans in the arena or watching on TV. At any given time, you could be sitting on your couch watching college hoops and flipping between games and you'll find two or more games at the same time with the officials at the monitor reviewing a call. It’s not fun for anybody involved. I even saw a game in which a coach pleaded for a review on a call that wasn’t really that close, but the officials reviewed it anyway, and it gave this coach essentially an extra timeout because he was out of them.
I’m proposing three changes to the reviewing process.
First, make it similar to the NFL, where coaches get three “challenges” for the game on non-judgment calls (out of bounds, clock errors, arc rule, etc.). These can be used at any time, but unlike the NFL, you don’t get them back if you are right.
The second part of my change: Reviews can't last more than 30 seconds once the replay starts on the monitor. These reviews have been taking way too long, sometimes a few minutes.
And lastly, during a review players must stand in the painted area in front of their bench to prevent coaches from essentially getting extra timeouts out of these challenges.
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Texas Tech
It would be really hard to find a program that had a better week than Texas Tech. The Red Raiders drilled Kansas at home in prime time on ESPN in a game that really showed just how good of a coach Chris Beard has become. That win alone is good enough to secure Texas Tech for my team of the week. But for good measure the Red Raiders held on at home in overtime against a scrappy Oklahoma State team, with Lindy Waters hitting tough shot after tough shot. Those are the games you just have to win any way you can if you are Texas Tech.
RECRUITING NOTE: SEC battle for Sharife Cooper?
For a while now, most recruiting analysts have predicted five-star point guard Sharife Cooper will end up committing to Auburn. Nobody has spent as much time as Bruce Pearl recruiting Cooper and his teammates at McEachern High School and with Cooper's AOT travel team. The class of 2020 floor general has made several trips to Auburn’s campus the past few years.
However, it appears one of Auburn’s SEC rivals is trying to wrestle away that top spot in his recruitment. Kentucky coach John Calipari offered Cooper a scholarship not too long ago, and he showed up in Georgia to see Cooper on Wednesday night. This could be a recruiting battle worth following over the next few months.
PREDICTION: Doubling down on a previous prediction
At the beginning of February, I predicted the coaching carousel to be pretty active this year. Here we are on the first day or March and I’m going to double down on this. I have heard some chatter lately that could definitely start some dominoes this year. Between coaches being let go for not winning, breaking rules or leaving for the NBA, there will be a lot of new faces in new places when the dust settles this off-season.
