North Dakota Preps

Saw this on the internet tonight (so it must be true) - ND will have a "mercy rule" in basketball next year. The post was short on details but I believe it will be a running clock for the 4th Qtr if a team is ahead by 40 or more points. The post also said the NDHSAA Board of Directors voted down the proposal for a 3 Class System.

Sportsrube wrote:Saw this on the internet tonight (so it must be true) - ND will have a "mercy rule" in basketball next year. The post was short on details but I believe it will be a running clock for the 4th Qtr if a team is ahead by 40 or more points. The post also said the NDHSAA Board of Directors voted down the proposal for a 3 Class System.

um...close its 30+ points at the start of the 4th Quarter...the clock then would ONLY stop for timeouts or injuries.

This is ONLY for Class B Boys & Girls Basketball...Class A will play without the mercy rule.

What a great idea! Now teams will now not feel so humiliated. Why don't we just stop putting points on the scoreboard too so the score doesn't look so lopsided.

For stupid, this has got to be the dumbest thing I ever heard. Somebody please explain the reasoning behind this. Why not just call the game at that point? How about putting some of the younger players in to get some playing time?

Rivershark wrote:What a great idea! Now teams will now not feel so humiliated. Why don't we just stop putting points on the scoreboard too so the score doesn't look so lopsided.

For stupid, this has got to be the dumbest thing I ever heard. Somebody please explain the reasoning behind this. Why not just call the game at that point? How about putting some of the younger players in to get some playing time?

not every coach does this the way we all think they should...

I have a feeling this could be a trial period on this...Minnesota does it and its worked.

Some people love it, some hate it...got to give it a chance first...

Could say the exact same thing about the three-class system. That won't get a chance. Fourteen district chairs say "explore it", and the board, dominated by A and big B reps, say, "nah".

Screw the mercy rule. Balance competition and you wouldn't need it.

Run4Fun2009 wrote:not every coach does this the way we all think they should...

I have a feeling this could be a trial period on this...Minnesota does it and its worked.

Some people love it, some hate it...got to give it a chance first...

I dislike the rule. I hate more that it passed.

There are some differences than the MN rule. MN is 35+ points and MN has 36 minute games. So in MN you're guaranteed 27 regular clock minutes and now in ND you'll be guaranteed 24. I haven't read anything, is it once you're up by 30 in the 4th quarter the clock runs continuous or does it ever go back to normal if the lead is under 30? The MN rule is under 9 minutes and 35+ point lead and the clock runs, but if the lead gets under 30 it goes back to normal clock.

Was at a team camp yesterday and this was a big topic of conversation. Not one coach was in favor of this rule, but almost everyone of them was in favor of a 3 Class system or moving all privates to Class A. So who exactly is the NDHSAA Board of Directors representing?

I like the mercy rule/running clock in basketball to speed blowouts along. BUT I don't like how it doesn't start until the 4th quarter.

caserace0710 wrote:I like the mercy rule/running clock in basketball to speed blowouts along. BUT I don't like how it doesn't start until the 4th quarter.

How darn short do you want games? Does it make sense to give our teams that really struggle less time on the court? Let's have them practice more against their subs on the bench. Everyone knows you get better by playing against weaker competition. Oh, wait, that isn't the case.

Who is the mercy rule designed to help?

d_fense wrote:

caserace0710 wrote:I like the mercy rule/running clock in basketball to speed blowouts along. BUT I don't like how it doesn't start until the 4th quarter.

How darn short do you want games? Does it make sense to give our teams that really struggle less time on the court? Let's have them practice more against their subs on the bench. Everyone knows you get better by playing against weaker competition. Oh, wait, that isn't the case.

Who is the mercy rule designed to help?

That's a great question. Who is the mercy rule designed to help. Sure, nobody but likes a blowout. But how do you turn it around and make it a positive? I like how a blowout gives the younger kids an opportunity to get some playing time. I don't like how that opportunity has to be during run time. The kids practice all week, give them some playing time. Back in the 80's for football, they actually called the game if you were up by 40 point after halftime. Obviously that didn't last very long.

In my experience, when the winning team subs down, the losing team does too. For that reason the varsity on poor team gets little more experience against the better team's JV.

heimer wrote:Could say the exact same thing about the three-class system. That won't get a chance. Fourteen district chairs say "explore it", and the board, dominated by A and big B reps, say, "nah".

Screw the mercy rule. Balance competition and you wouldn't need it.

Kind of what I was thinking.

d_fense wrote:

caserace0710 wrote:I like the mercy rule/running clock in basketball to speed blowouts along. BUT I don't like how it doesn't start until the 4th quarter.

How darn short do you want games? Does it make sense to give our teams that really struggle less time on the court? Let's have them practice more against their subs on the bench. Everyone knows you get better by playing against weaker competition. Oh, wait, that isn't the case.

Who is the mercy rule designed to help?

Exactly.

Mercy rule in football is fine. Much larger chance of younger, smaller athletes getting hurt. Even against 2nd or 3rd strings of larger rosters. Makes no sense in basketball. It helps nobody but refs and people in the stands wanting to go home early, IMHO.

I actually agree with Heimer on this one as well as classB4ever. Three class system would lead to fewer blowouts and I don't like that we are taking playing time away from kids who would benefit from it.

My optimism says that the 3 class idea isn't dead, however. I've heard that it was voted down because it did not include volleyball, which possibly means if the same proposal was made with volleyball it might get looked at. Who knows, though.

Doesn't include volleyball for a very important reason.

Can't run three courts at one facility.

Can't get around it, either.

BOD knows this, so they use it as an excuse.

There is no way the current make-up of the board will ever let this through. Roaldson, from Jamestown, won't do anything that tinkers with the current Class A, and feels threatened whenever this is brought up. The NE representative is from a district that voted against it. Kindred is dead set against it. Washburn would be against. The BOD is unbalanced on this issue.

Dead on arrival.

Here's a thought....if I were on a team that's getting blown out I would be more demoralized if a mercy rule kicks in late in the game rather than letting the team just grind it out to the end...just saying.

This is not a contact sport. In football there is a fear that the lesser team is going to be beaten both literally and figuratively. This is basketball. We should be able to call off the dogs so to speak. Run half court offenses pull off the press. play solid d and look for the open shot of a set play. Self regulate and have long memories. Because teams that consistently run up the score for no reason in my experience always get there comeuppance. It may not be this year or next year but coaches remember the coaches that do this and they see scores from not only their region but from around the state. And they take pride in so called returning the favor. They all know the coach that doesn't show mercy and take pride in showing them none when they have a down year. We instead, just as within out political system, try an legislate morality. It cannot be done. If a coach is willing to run up the score he will be willing to see how quickly he can get to the mercy rule. Its their nature. You won't change that.

I sat in on an interesting conversation with a couple of AD's yesterday (from small Class B schools), they both felt that the NDHSAA got what they wanted when they dealt with the Mercy Rule and the 3 Class system. Everyone is talking about the Mercy Rule and no one is talking about the voting down of a 3 Class system. (I plead guilty to that!) They both felt that the 3 Class system proposal is dead in the water as long as the NDHSAA Board is made up of its current members.

It doesn't matter who the members are. You don't get hired at the NDHSAA unless you profess a certain set of values about high school sports that matches the agenda of the NDHSAA. Therefore the agenda of the NDHSAA doesn't change. Think about it. King the almighty (Bob, that is) didn't retire until he was sure he had his kind of thinkers hired to replace him. And the parade just keeps right on rolling.........

Question for you all:
If the mercy rule and the three class system would have been voted on by all of the class B athletic directors and coaches, instead of the NDHSAA, would either of passed?

I would guess that the mercy rule would not have passed and the three class system would of easily passed. If I am correct about how this hypothetical vote would have gone, then I see a major problem in our system.

I think you are spot on Sniper.