Big 12 switches to hardwood court after injury, complaints about glass floor
By Nick Sloan
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — The Big 12 Conference will finish its men’s basketball tournament on a traditional hardwood court after players and coaches raised concerns about the league’s new glass playing surface during games this week.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark announced the change Thursday following conversations with the coaches of the four semifinal teams – Arizona, Houston, Iowa State and Kansas.
The tournament had been played on a high-tech LED glass court at the T-Mobile Center, a surface designed to display graphics and animations during games.
“After consultation with the coaches of our four Semifinal teams, I have decided that in order to provide our student-athletes with the greatest level of comfort on a huge stage this weekend, we will transition to a hardwood court for the remainder of the Tournament,” Yormark said in a statement. “We look forward to a great Semifinals and Championship Game.”
The decision comes after several players said the court felt different than traditional hardwood.
“The floor is slippery,” said Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. “I didn’t want to, you know, fully, fully run, but you know, we’ve played on it so I didn’t think about it. … I had to keep getting grip for my shoes, and I don’t really be having grip for my shoes. I don’t really do that.”
“I didn’t notice us slipping as much. I personally didn’t think it was as big a deal,” said Bill Self, Kansas head basketball coach. “But if you study it, and watch the games throughout the day, and maybe even some tonight, it seemed like to me there was a lot of steps that end up sliding 1 or 2 inches that just didn’t look quite as clean.”
Concerns intensified Thursday when Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson slipped late in the Red Raiders’ quarterfinal loss to Iowa State.
Players from multiple teams had mentioned slipping or adjusting footwear during the tournament, though slips can happen on any basketball court surface.
The Big 12 introduced the glass floor with significant fanfare ahead of the tournaments in Kansas City.
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