Putting points on the board was not a problem for the University of Jamestown men's basketball team last season.
That was not the case for everybody, particularly at the top level of the college game. That's why last week the NCAA made more rule tweaks to try increase scoring. The most notable being dropping the shot clock from 35 seconds to 30.
As is normally the case, the NAIA also embraced the change, meaning the Jimmies will have five fewer seconds to work with next season, but head coach Alan Magnani isn't too worried about it.
"For us, it's not too much of a problem. There weren't many times where we were up against (the clock)," he said. "It's more aimed at the D-I power conferences where the games were bogged down in the 50s and 60s. People don't like that very much."
Rarely were the Jimmies dragged into a slopfest mired in the 50s or 60s last season. In Magnani's first year at the helm, Jamestown averaged 82.3 points per game, led by All-American Brequan Tucker's stellar 21.5 point per game average.
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"It's a change. I'm sure there will be an adjustment for everybody," Magnani said. "It will create more possessions, but as long as perimeter players are allowed to play and have freedom of movement, it likely will increase scoring to a degree across the board."
With the shorter clock, teams are likely to run more set plays. The Jimmies will likely incorporate some of that, but Magnani prefers motion and flow opposed to running a bunch of sets.
"It'll force teams to execute a little better, but I don't expect it to have a dramatic effect on what we do," he said.
There was one rule change Magnani was not thrilled about. No longer will coaches be able to call live-ball timeouts. Only players on the floor can call timeout.
"I never understood the rationale behind that," Magnani said. "Late in the game, it's better for the head coach to be able to call timeouts. It makes for a cleaner game. But the change has been made, so we'll adjust and move on."
Still recruiting
Magnani and assistant coach Danny Neville continue to pound the pavement in search of players for next year's team.
The primary focus is on adding depth to the varsity roster.
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"We won't be done, really, until right up when school starts," he said.
The incoming freshmen class is sizeable and has deep local ties.
Several have played in Jamestown a number of times during their high school careers, including all-stater Jon Purintun of Linton and Bismarck Century's Riley Henderson and Isaac Wahlin.
Christian Kvilvang is a former high school teammate of returning starter Jacob Hagler, who was second on the Jimmies in scoring last season at 10.8 points per game. Hagler and Kvilvang were key cogs in the stellar run North Star has had in Class B the last several seasons. The coach of those teams was Jeff Hagler, Jacob's dad. Jeff recently stepped down as basketball coach of the Bearcats.
"We're really pleased with the recruiting class so far," Magnani said. "We put an emphasis on getting quality North Dakota kids and we got a majority of the ones we wanted. And the kids we got were wanted by some other schools, so we're excited about what they're going to bring to our program."
Other North Dakota players to sign so far include Ethan Brown (Cavalier), Davis Koppinger (Minot), Colton Lund (Sawyer), Zachary Miller (Rugby) and Tommy Voss (Casselton).
Also on the roster is Magnani's son Trey, who transferred to UJ at the semester break last year and will be in a crowded mix in the backcourt fighting for playing time.
