The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

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Rich K
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The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Rich K » Sat Jul 20, 2019 4:00 pm

By chance I caught the endings of three games of the TBT tournament and actually enjoyed them.

For me, the worst part of most games is the hacking and fowling that occurs during the last few minutes of close games. The TBT uses what is called the ELAM Ending.
“Elam Ending” – designed by Mensa member and basketball super fan Dr. Nick Elam – eliminates deliberate fouling at the end of games, ensures the final minutes are played at the same pace and flow as the rest of the game, and guarantees every game ends on a made basket. Under the rule, at the first dead ball after the four minute mark in the fourth quarter, the game clock shuts off. A Target Score is set by adding seven to the leading team’s score. The first team to reach the Target Score wins.
https://www.thetournament.com/news/tbt- ... 2018-games
“When we tested the Elam Ending during our play-in games last year, we were floored by how much fans loved it,” said Jon Mugar, founder and CEO of TBT. “What Nick taught us is that deliberate fouling happens in 50% of games, but is only effective 1.5% of the time, so fans are having to put up with a strategy that sucks up time and rarely works. Data aside, the energy in the arena during the Elam Ending portion of our games was awesome, and those teams were seven wins away from $2 million. On August 3rd, at about 10:50pm, someone will have to make a shot for $2 million. I can’t wait for that moment.”
I am a ho-hum basketball fan but I'd be interested in reading what some of the basketball gurus think of this. I think the Big Sky would be a great place to test this. Maybe do it during the conference games only and then change back to how it is now for the tournament just to make sure the players get a couple games reminder before the dance.


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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by blueandgoldblitz » Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:59 am

That's awesome. I would love to watch a game like that!



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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Rich K » Fri Jul 26, 2019 5:26 pm

There is a game on ESPN2 right now. Boeheim's Army (a bunch of Syracuse alum) vs. We Are D3 (Division 3 all-Americans).
So far We are D3 is ahead early in the 2nd. I won't be able to catch the end of this but if you are interested in the Elam Ending check it out.


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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by thefrank1 » Mon Jul 29, 2019 2:46 pm

I watched and liked the product. Keeps the flow going and takes intentional fouls to a minimum.


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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Bobcat4Ever » Mon Jul 29, 2019 2:50 pm

Another idea — call an intentional foul an intentional foul.



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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Rich K » Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:20 pm

thefrank1 wrote:
Mon Jul 29, 2019 2:46 pm
I watched and liked the product. Keeps the flow going and takes intentional fouls to a minimum.
I agree. It also keeps the ref interaction to a minimum during the critical final minutes of a game. Quite frankly, the tournament games I watched were the most enjoyable basketball I have watched in over 30 years.


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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by MSU01 » Tue Jul 30, 2019 1:16 pm

This sounds like a really good idea to improve the end of basketball games, which is why I have no doubt that the NCAA will want nothing to do with it.



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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by thefrank1 » Tue Jul 30, 2019 3:39 pm

Maybe if the name was Emmert Ending...……..


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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Rich K » Tue Jul 30, 2019 6:50 pm

Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Mon Jul 29, 2019 2:50 pm
Another idea — call an intentional foul an intentional foul.
That's fine, but mostly intentional fouls involve the referee making a decision about whether or not the fouler is a good enough actor. Elimination of 5 minutes of a ref staring at a monitor trying to figure out how to make the call is one way to keep the game going. 20+ minutes of watching referees scratching their heads might be a good place to sell commercials but it sucks for the fan experience.


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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Rich K » Sat Jan 11, 2020 5:51 pm

Watching the end of the women's game today and I see exactly the kind of crap ending that makes some basketball games barely watchable.

I'd really like to hear from some of the basketball gurus why it would NOT be a good idea to go to something like the Elam Ending in college basketball.
Sitting through fouls, free throws, and referee conferences for 20 minutes to play the last 2 minutes of a game is asking a lot from casual fans.


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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by BelgradeBobcat » Sat Jan 11, 2020 10:11 pm

Rich K wrote:
Sat Jan 11, 2020 5:51 pm
Watching the end of the women's game today and I see exactly the kind of crap ending that makes some basketball games barely watchable.

I'd really like to hear from some of the basketball gurus why it would NOT be a good idea to go to something like the Elam Ending in college basketball.
Sitting through fouls, free throws, and referee conferences for 20 minutes to play the last 2 minutes of a game is asking a lot from casual fans.
That's pretty radical-I'd have to watch it for myself. It'd kinda be like removing kickoffs from football or something. Also, the fouling strategy in basketball really doesn't bother me. I guess I just accept it as part of the game. Doing away with some timeouts wouldn't hurt my feelings, but then you're messing with ad revenue.



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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Ilikecats » Sun Jan 12, 2020 11:17 am

College hoops is a great game! Take a second and get a better understanding of the strategy in the last minutes and I’m comfortable you’d be against any changes! Elam ending is cool, but takes away the hard work from the superior team.



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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by wapiti » Sun Jan 12, 2020 3:49 pm

BelgradeBobcat wrote:
Sat Jan 11, 2020 10:11 pm
Rich K wrote:
Sat Jan 11, 2020 5:51 pm
Watching the end of the women's game today and I see exactly the kind of crap ending that makes some basketball games barely watchable.

I'd really like to hear from some of the basketball gurus why it would NOT be a good idea to go to something like the Elam Ending in college basketball.
Sitting through fouls, free throws, and referee conferences for 20 minutes to play the last 2 minutes of a game is asking a lot from casual fans.
That's pretty radical-I'd have to watch it for myself. It'd kinda be like removing kickoffs from football or something. Also, the fouling strategy in basketball really doesn't bother me. I guess I just accept it as part of the game. Doing away with some timeouts wouldn't hurt my feelings, but then you're messing with ad revenue.
During the men's game against PSU, the pluto feed did not show adds during the media timeouts.



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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Bobcat4Ever » Sun Jan 12, 2020 10:36 pm

The women’s game has reduced their number of timeouts, including having a team timeout anywhere near the middle of the quarter also be the one media timeout. But one rule, that I personally do not care for, is the one where the timeout allows you to move the ball to mid-court. This often causes both teams to exhaust their arsenal of timeouts simply to advance the ball. It seems that I remember this happening at the end of the Portland game. It caused a timeout on nearly every possession in a game that was getting closer but was not a nail-biter. Maybe they could call the timeout and point to mid-court and just keep on playing! Bizarre? Yup. But that’s the effect of the rule. I know why they have it, but I think it has unintended consequences.



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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Bobcat4Ever » Sun Jan 12, 2020 10:44 pm

Rich K wrote:
Sat Jan 11, 2020 5:51 pm
Watching the end of the women's game today and I see exactly the kind of crap ending that makes some basketball games barely watchable.

I'd really like to hear from some of the basketball gurus why it would NOT be a good idea to go to something like the Elam Ending in college basketball.
Sitting through fouls, free throws, and referee conferences for 20 minutes to play the last 2 minutes of a game is asking a lot from casual fans.
It would eliminate the “Harald Frey ending” which is the one where trailing by 2 points with 2.6 seconds left you calmly drop a shot from backcourt! Or for us really old guys the “Scott Hatler ending”.



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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Rich K » Wed Mar 11, 2020 8:59 am

https://406mtsports.com/high-school/bas ... 3e7fd.html

I think the Elam ending would benefit college basketball as well.
....These endings barely resemble basketball. They transform the game into keepaway, a free-throw shooting contest and a race against time.

Shot clocks would greatly improve Montana high school basketball, but they probably won't arrive any time soon. Luckily, there's a simple way to fix the interminable fourth quarters, a format that has succeeded at the highest level of the sport: the Elam Ending.

The Elam Ending, created by Ball State professor Nick Elam, forces teams to play to a target score rather than to the end of a clock. The first three quarters are timed like any other organized basketball game. The descending clock shuts off at the beginning of (or minutes into) the fourth quarter, and a target score is set. The first team to reach that score wins.....


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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by kmax » Wed Mar 11, 2020 11:50 am

Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Sun Jan 12, 2020 10:44 pm
Rich K wrote:
Sat Jan 11, 2020 5:51 pm
Watching the end of the women's game today and I see exactly the kind of crap ending that makes some basketball games barely watchable.

I'd really like to hear from some of the basketball gurus why it would NOT be a good idea to go to something like the Elam Ending in college basketball.
Sitting through fouls, free throws, and referee conferences for 20 minutes to play the last 2 minutes of a game is asking a lot from casual fans.
It would eliminate the “Harald Frey ending” which is the one where trailing by 2 points with 2.6 seconds left you calmly drop a shot from backcourt! Or for us really old guys the “Scott Hatler ending”.
This. The Elam ending removes one of the most dramatic and celebrated plays in the game, the buzzer beater.


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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by ilovethecats » Wed Mar 11, 2020 11:58 am

kmax wrote:
Wed Mar 11, 2020 11:50 am
Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Sun Jan 12, 2020 10:44 pm
Rich K wrote:
Sat Jan 11, 2020 5:51 pm
Watching the end of the women's game today and I see exactly the kind of crap ending that makes some basketball games barely watchable.

I'd really like to hear from some of the basketball gurus why it would NOT be a good idea to go to something like the Elam Ending in college basketball.
Sitting through fouls, free throws, and referee conferences for 20 minutes to play the last 2 minutes of a game is asking a lot from casual fans.
It would eliminate the “Harald Frey ending” which is the one where trailing by 2 points with 2.6 seconds left you calmly drop a shot from backcourt! Or for us really old guys the “Scott Hatler ending”.
This. The Elam ending removes one of the most dramatic and celebrated plays in the game, the buzzer beater.
Good point. And one I didn't consider as I love the Elam ending.

In regards to mens hoops I'm fine with just about everything except playing two halves. That drives me nuts. Play quarters like every other level of basketball on the planet.



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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Rich K » Tue Jan 11, 2022 3:07 pm

I just watched the replay of the Cat/gris game and I payed particular attention to the final 2-3 minutes. It should have been a very exciting part of the game but it predictably turned into a fouling/ free throw shooting contest. It was hard to watch since I already knew the outcome. This would not have been hard to watch had an Elam ending been employed.

I know you basketball experts think I just need to learn more about basketball and I will enjoy the ending also seem to be the same guys complaining that not enough people are showing up to games. I say maybe the game itself doesn’t leave a fan itching for the next game. What’s the old show biz adage about always leave them wanting more?

Good news on Sunday is between the refs and the foul shooting bobcats beat the gris.


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Re: The Basketball Tournament - Elam Ending

Post by Rich K » Fri Jul 29, 2022 9:24 pm

Semifinals for this year's "The Basketball Tournament" will be played tomorrow afternoon on ESPN.

Final game is Tuesday evening. I absolutely insist that the rules played in this tournament including the Elan ending make the game one hell of a lot better. Every game ends in a made shot. Referees don't have to figure out who the best actors are during the final minutes, in fact the referees' role in the game is way less than college or nba. If you like watching the last 2 minutes of a game last for 15 minutes and 40 whistles this isn't for you. As for me this makes basketball watchable.


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