Three-point line to move back

After a few years of discussion, the NCAA has approved moving back the men's three-point line a foot, to 20 feet, nine inches, beginning in 2008-09. The measure still has to pass another NCAA committee on May 25 before it is finalized.

I think this is a great move for college basketball, where almost anyone on every team shoots threes, which I think can sometimes cheapen the game. While it's still three feet shorter than the NBA three line, it's farther than the international line of 20'6". While this may not bring back the mid-range jump-shot, big men who shoot threes will have to either adjust their games to be able to hit the longer shot, or will have to work on their mid-range games more.

While runs sparked by threes are exciting, it sometimes feels that it's a gimmick for teams like VMI who shoot more threes than twos.

More importantly for Penn, I'm interested to see how the new line will affect the Princeton offense, which is designed around the three-point arc and shooting threes. The Tigers have struggled in recent years without big men who can shoot, and making the line farther will only make that harder. Also, with everyone now having to stand a foot farther back, there will be more space inside the line for the cuts to be made. We'll see what adjustments new coach Sydney Johnson makes.

Finally, the women's game decided not to change their line, leaving it at 19' 9", so there will have to be two lines, a foot apart, put on college basketball courts. Let's see how confusing that is for people, at least that first year.