By Christopher Wuensch
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Wednesday, October 8, 2003
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FILE PHOTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat
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Junior guard Salim Stoudamire lets a shot fly during the Wildcat's 106-70 blowout against UCLA last season.
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Should Arizona's basketball squad win a national championship this season, its chances of repeating the following year may be bumped back.
About nine inches back.
NCAA officials have announced plans to extend the 3-point arc by almost a foot, pushing the line back to 20 feet, 6 inches.
"You, I and half the student body can (still) knock down that 3-point shot," Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner said.
According to the NCAA, the alterations for Division I will take effect starting in the 2004-05 season. Divisions II and III are expected to follow suit and make the change as well.
The feeling around the league is that the greater distance will deter marginal shooters from easily making the shot. The current setting of 19 feet, 9 inches has been in effect since the 1986 season for the men, and followed a year later for the women.
The change in distance is designed to conform to international rules.
The NCAA committee rejected a proposal to alter the rectangular free-throw lane in accordance with international rules, electing to keep the current settings of 12 feet wide from top to bottom. Under international rules, the more traditional rectangular style is replaced with a trapezoidal lane that measures 16 feet, 2 inches top to bottom.
The NBA uses a 16-foot rectangular formation top-to-bottom and a 23 foot, 9 inch three-point arc.
A final decision will be made when NCAA management councils meet Oct. 21-22. Failure to agree on the new dimensions will be settled by the NCAA Executive Committee on Oct. 31.
No adjustments will need to be made to the Wildcats' game, according to Pastner. He said the extra space will be an issue the squad will have to address, but sharp-shooters still need to make the plays.
"(We've) just got to knock the shot down," Pastner said.
The former UA player believes the difference may be reflected in shooting percentage.
"It will separate the average shooters from the good shooters and the good shooters from the great shooters," he said.
Then-sophomore Salim Stoudamire led all Arizona three-point scorers last season with a .444 shooting percentage from behind the arc, connecting on 71 of his 160 3-point attempts. After just two seasons in a Wildcat uniform, the shooting guard is second in school history with a career three-point shooting percentage of .449. His 144 treys are good enough to place him ninth all-time in the team's 100-year history.
Pastner believes the dimension change won't affect Stoudamire in the least.
"Salim can flat-out light it up," he said.
