Commentary: Basketball's Becoming Less Difficult

Basketball revenues are going through the roof. Despite that, many in the industry believe basketball is getting easier. Radio 101 commentator, Xavier Coles, has experienced it first-hand.

During practice, a basketball hit one of Xavier's teammates in the mouth. Although there was no blood and the hit wasn't that hard, the teammate still ran off the court and to the trainer. Xavier overheard his coaches talk about how soft players have become.

Xavier agrees with his coaches. He points to past basketball teams of the '80s and '90s like the Piston Bad Boys who were known for rough and dirty play. He feels players today are not as rugged.

Then there's the rule changes. Xavier's coach, Billy Martin, says the results of those changes are mixed. He tells Xavier, "If it's more like changing the three-point line, I think that's good for basketball. But when you start limiting and making the game so easy, you can't touch players and stuff. You have to look at that aspect, too."

Xavier has heard sports analysts, coaches, and players bemoaning the way fouls are now called. They talk about how plays were not counted as fouls until they drew blood.