Georgia Tech Basketball: Proposed Shot Clock Rule Will Actually Help The Yellow Jackets

There is a prevailing sentiment among basketball pundits and fans that collegiate basketball is slow, plodding, and aesthetically hard to watch.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets /

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Because of this the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee got together to propose some rule changes that would help the game become more appealing while making the game move faster at the same time.

One of the rules proposed is to shorten the shot clock from 35 seconds to 30 seconds.

If this rule is passed, it would be the second time a reduction was made to the shot clock. The last time was in the 1993-94 season when the clock was reduced from 45 to 35 seconds.

There are other proposals as it pertains to the pace of play issues in the game, but reducing the shot clock in the end is in the best interest of the game and would actually force teams to play faster.

Playing faster is something that Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets fans had wanted to see from the basketball team during the 2014-15 season. They actually got some of it as the season was coming to a close.

But with the clock being reduced by five seconds, it would actually help a team like the Yellow Jackets naturally get their pace up offensively.

Dec 3, 2014; Evanston, IL, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Travis Jorgenson (10) dribbles around Northwestern Wildcats guard Bryant McIntosh (30) at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

If fans are honest, for the majority of the 2014-15 season, the offensive pace at which Yellow Jackets played was questionable at times. It led to the team having to settle for a bunch of outside shots that essentially came about because of poor halfcourt execution.

Thus, the Jackets averaged 63.3 points per contest as a team which in the ACC is not going to get you many wins.

How many times did people scream at their TV that the Jackets needed to force tempo before the opposing team set their defense up to avoid having to try to execute in the halfcourt?

Too many times!

How much better did the Jackets look offensively when they were getting out on the break, or even forcing tempo after made baskets?

A whole lot better!

So when you look at this proposed shot clock rule, this is the best thing that could happen for Yellow Jackets basketball because it would force them to play the type of pace they actually excel at.

We learned that Travis Jorgenson for the most part makes good decisions when the tempo is fast.