Storming the court now a part of college basketball

Published 8:11 pm Saturday, March 2, 2013

It’s the closest thing I’ve felt to flying.

After the shot fell, I looked at my friend and yelled, “Go!”

The next few moments my feet barely touched the ground as a wave of white carried me down a flight of stairs and onto the parquet wood where seconds before a serene southpaw sank the hearts of Longhorns everywhere.

Grumpy old men across the country have spent the past week berating the practice of storming the court after a basketball win.

But hey, don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.

The venerable coach Mike Krzyzewski has been at the forefront of this movement trying to stop kids from having fun.

While Coach K may just be a sore loser — stop complaining that you created a program against which everyone else is measured — countless other geezers on TV, radio and print have condemned court storming.

They claim someone could get hurt. Boo. Hoo.

Sure, injuries can happen — a Playboy model complained that she sprained an ankle and missed a photo shoot a couple years ago after watching Indiana beat Kentucky — but it’s no more dangerous than a crowded concert venue or the line at Chuy’s.

That said, court storming does need regulations, and I don’t mean allowing players to leave the floor first, like Coach Kry has advocated.

Most of the time rushing the court is a spontaneous reaction to an exhilarating end to a basketball game. That’s fine, as long as it’s a big win.

If you’re North Carolina and you hit a buzzer beater to defeat Wake Forest, no matter how exciting the game was, you shouldn’t storm the court.

Court storming should be reserved for program-changing wins or stupefying upsets.

TCU beating Kansas? Yeah, that’s a court-stormer. Texas beating Kansas? Not so much.

Here are a few guidelines for future floor rushes:

You must beat a highly-ranked team or clinch an NCAA tournament berth, preferably both.

You cannot be one of the historical great programs like Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky or UCLA or be currently ranked in the top 15.

You cannot be a BCS school beating a non-BCS school, even if it’s Auburn beating Butler.

You can’t do it after beating a team you have an all-time record of .500 or more against.

You can’t do it after winning by more than 20 (sorry Miami, that Duke win a month ago wasn’t worthy).

There are countless caveats but basically, have some common sense. Court storming is a memorable moment if done right, or embarrassing if done wrong (YouTube Seton Hall students try to storm court).

It’s a release of immense elation and the act itself in my opinion is rivaled only by crowd surfing.

Acie Law IV put Texas A&M on the map when he drilled a last-second three-pointer to beat No. 6 Texas exactly seven years ago Friday. The victory essentially clinched the Aggies’ first NCAA tournament bid in nearly 20 years, with a little help from P.J. Tucker’s miniscule IQ.

It was a unique situation and the perfect occasion to storm the court.

It’s terrifying to think of college basketball without it.