Not really a case of foul play, new NCAA rules make early-season impact on unbeaten NKU

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

The never-ending comedy of NCAA basketball rules changes has already made an impact on Northern Kentucky University, particularly on sophomore center Chris Vogt.

During the past two games, Vogt has been whistled for three Flagrant 1 fouls. Though he’s listed at 7-foot-1 and 240 pounds, Vogt’s style of play is not likely to be compared to former Detroit Pistons “Bad Boys” Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn, a duo renowned for their physically aggressive and sometimes dirty tactics inside.

Don’t tell that to current NCAA officials, though.

“If you get hooked on a rebound, you hook his arms and you don’t immediately release, they call a flagrant foul,” NKU head coach John Brannen said when asked about the rule change. “Chris has been called for three flagrant fouls in two games. It’s a game-changing rule. I don’t remember them asking the coaches’ opinions on it. I guess they probably did.

“I’d like to know the coaches’ opinions on it right now a week into it because it baffles me. That being said, we have to adjust to it, because that’s what coaches have to do, we have to adjust to rules changes.”

According to the new rules, if a player gets beat on positioning and then hooks arms in an attempt to keep the other player from securing the rebound, that is considered a Flagrant 1 foul.

If the player who is beaten hooks arms and then is deemed to have tried to pull the other player down or pull him to the floor, that will now be called a Flagrant 2 foul and the player will be ejected from the game.

Vogt was whistled for a pair of Flagrant 1 fouls against Wabash on Sunday night, but NKU was well on its way to a 99-59 win. Two nights earlier at Northern Illinois, he was called for the same violation at a most inopportune time.

“It almost cost us the game at Northern Illinois,” Brannen said of the second-half call against Vogt during NKU’s 88-85 double-overtime victory. “We were on a 14-0 run, they call it, and they score the next five points. It’s worse than me getting a technical. They get two free throws and the ball.”

Despite the fouls, NKU is unbeaten (3-0) going into this weekend.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: NKU senior forward Drew McDonald scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in limited time against Wabash. McDonald is nearing NKU’s all-time record for rebounds and currently ranks third with 789 boards. LaRon Moore is the Norse’s all-time leader with 859 career rebounds.

McDonald averages 17.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, with a season-high 28 points and 14 boards in the win at Northern Illinois.

KEMI NORTHERN KENTUCKY BASKETBALL CLASSIC: NKU will play host to UNC Asheville (1-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in the KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic. Coastal Carolina (2-0) takes on Manhattan (0-2) in the opener Friday at 4:30 p.m.

On Saturday, the Norse face Manhattan at 7 p.m. NKU closes out the three-day event Sunday at 6 p.m. by facing Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers are coached by Cliff Ellis, who is one of only 12 coaches in NCAA Division I history to lead four different institutions to the NCAA Tournament. Ellis has also coached at Auburn, Clemson and South Alabama in more than 40 years on the sidelines.

The KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic is part of a three-year partnership with the Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance, which includes the naming rights to NKU’s four-team round-robin basketball tournament.

NKU ON FOX SPORTS OHIO: NKU AND FOX Sports Ohio have formed a partnership for five Norse men’s basketball games to air on the regional network this season.
 
The partnership, which was arranged through Norse Sports Properties, begins with the final game of the KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic when NKU plays host to Coastal Carolina this Sunday night (Nov. 18) at 6 p.m. at BB&T Arena.
 
“Partnering with FOX Sports Ohio provides a great opportunity to showcase our men’s basketball program and to shine a spotlight on Northern Kentucky University,” said Ken Bothof, director of athletics. “FOX Sports Ohio is among the nation’s best regional sports networks and has significant reach in a market that is important for continuing to build the brands of both Norse basketball and the university. Thank you to FOX Sports Ohio for working so closely to build this partnership.”
 
“The opportunity to align with FOX Sports Ohio is outstanding, and it instantly elevates visibility for the Norse brand, available in more than five million households across six states. We’re looking forward to a great basketball season and being on FOX Sports Ohio in a couple of weeks,” said Tony Kountz, general manager for Learfield’s Norse Sports Properties, the university’s athletics multimedia rights holder.
 
FOX Sports Ohio is available in more than five million homes across Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, western Pennsylvania, western New York and parts of West Virginia. Half of the Horizon League’s member institutions reside in FOX Sports Ohio’s market. NKU’s recently announced Educational Discount to Graduate and Excel program, which features annual tuition of $10,000 for qualifying students, reaches five of the six states covered by FOX Sports Ohio.

Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport