The conference announced Thursday that it will abandon its much-hyped LED glass court for the remaining three games of its conference tournament, the same day Texas Tech star Christian Anderson left his team’s quarterfinal game with a slipping injury.
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Statement from Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark:
“After consulting with the coaches of our four semifinal teams, I have decided that 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. We are looking forward to a great semifinal and championship game.”
That statement is a big change from Yormark’s previous days as the glass court’s biggest cheerleader. Just after Anderson’s injury, Yormark went to ESPN and described the court as “the future,” while saying the conference did its due diligence on a court that has been in use for two EuroLeague teams since 2024:
“Anytime you innovate, you never get 100% buy-in,” Yormark said, echoing his sentiment from his pre-tournament press conference. “I like where we are. Obviously, first and foremost is the safety of the student-athlete. We did a lot of due diligence with ASB of Europe.
“It is certified by FIBA, used in the EuroLeague and also in other parts of the world. We are excited to be the first and look forward to the coming days.”
The LED glass court was intended to be the Big 12’s signature touch, giving the conference the ability to effortlessly change its logos and introduce in-game effects, such as part of the court breaking after a dunk.
The players on the field were not so positive. While the glass has a finish that mimics the stickiness of hardwood, players and coaches repeatedly complained about how it felt.
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Some of the reviews:
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Kansas State’s Taj Manning: “It was pretty bad. It’s slippery. The lights gave Khamari (McGriff) a migraine. It’s a bad floor. They shouldn’t bring him back, if you want my honest opinion.
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Arizona State’s Allen Mukeba: “To be honest, the traction is really good, but when you go really, really hard, you slip. You’re going to slip, for sure. I think it’s more the shoes and the court, they don’t really go together. It sure makes it dangerous. You know how hard we play, the intensity and all that, it makes it dangerous, but it’s still a basketball court. A lot of things can happen on a normal basketball court, too.”
To be clear, the overall response hasn’t been overwhelmingly negative (some players didn’t mind it, others thought the lights were fine), but it has proven controversial, to say the least. And then came Anderson’s injury.
The Big 12 assists leader left his game Thursday after slipping on the court several times and pointed to the floor as the reason:
“Obviously the floor is a little slippery, so I think I just took a wrong step or made a move that caused me to slip and end up in an unnatural position. That’s what it was.”
During his interview with ESPN the same day, Yormark said his office was monitoring feedback from “key stakeholders” about an idea he hoped would be a regular presence in future tournaments. It seems that you have received that answer.