Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) — Flashback to the 1996 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The defending champion and No. 4 seeded UCLA Bruins entered as heavy favorites to topple the No. 13 Princeton Tigers.

Not so fast. Not with ex-coach Pete Carril’s creative game-planning, decades ahead of his time: Create offensive spacing with point-guard-like centers.

Princeton pulled off one of the great March Madness upsets by doing what is normal today: looking first for the open 3-point attempt and then settling for a pass into the paint for a short shot or foul.

Against the Bruins, the Tigers hoisted eight more triple attempts than shots within the arc. On their 17 made shots, they were credited with 15 assists.

The reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets and all-world center Nikola Jokic have taken Carril’s concepts and injected them with modern analytical advancements.

Basketball has evolved into a game of layups and treys.

Nikola Jokic new center standard

Similar to how Golden State Warriors’ guard Stephen Curry standardized the long-range jump shot over the past 15 years, Jokic, nicknamed “Joker,” is revolutionizing the role of centers.

During one evening of NBA matchups, two of the top five leaders in assists played the pivot: Jokic and Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis. Jokic ranked third, averaging nine helpers per game and Sabonis was tied for fifth with Los Angeles Kings forward LeBron James at 8.2 assists per game.

Jokic’s responsibilities within the Nuggets’ game plan have become a major influence on how coaches at the high school and college levels are designing modern offensive sets. He's also re-establishing the stereotype of professional athletes.

Is Jokic an elite, jump-over-the-backboard athlete? Nope.

Is Jokic’s body lean and sculpted? Not really.

Has Jokic re-invented how the game is played? Well, in a way, he has.

Jokic’s been responsible for resurrecting and improving upon Carril’s concepts by processing in-game information, reacting quickly and displaying inert abilities to complete plays at angles that provide an advantage.

A true Jokic disciple, Indiana State center Robbie Avila, entered the NCAA transfer portal after a breakout postseason. The 6-foot-10, 240-pounder appears to make plays in slow motion, but the sophomore led the team in assists during his opening three NIT appearances. Avila doesn’t appear to employ “hops” in his game, but he finds space, makes the open pass and scores any way he can.

The Sycamores, who claimed the Missouri Valley Conference’s regular-season title, finished seventh in the nation in scoring, averaging 84.8 points per game. Indiana State fell to Seton Hall in the NIT final, 79-77.

“Offense is spacing,” Indiana State coach Josh Schertz said, as reported by The Athletic.

UConn coach follows ‘Joker’ effect

Much like Avila, who reportedly receives weekly clips of Jokic’s top plays, UConn center Donovan Clingan continues to idolize and emulate the “Joker.” They are not alone.

Clingan’s style is a bit unorthodox, but the substance in his game aided the Huskies during Monday’s 75-60 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers. Coach Dan Hurley, who has guided the Huskies to back-to-back tournament titles, generally avoided placing Clingan permanently in the post. Instead, Hurley made the center the focus of several offensive sets.

Defenders often lagged off the poor dribbler, but Clingan’s passing ability delivered open shots via screening and cutting teammates.

“I love passing,” Clingan told The Athletic. “Just getting a great pass off and setting up a teammate for an easy basket, I love that.”

When analyzing the 2023-24 college basketball season, Synergy identified 207 playmaking centers. Examining the players who were 6-9 or taller, their 40-minute assist rate increased to 1.8, compared to 1.3 during the 2011-12 campaign.

The “Joker” effect was fully transparent during March Madness, featuring Jokic-like imposters such as Duke’s Kyle Filipowski, Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro and BYU’s Aly Khalifa. Having fives able to pull opposing big men away from the basket, it opens a plethora of offensive possibilities.

“Being able to see over defenders, especially on backdoors or when teams are switching, I can throw it over the top rather than throwing a bounce pass, and it comes from a better angle because it’s coming from up higher,” Clingan said. “It’s definitely an advantage being able to be 7-2 and pass the ball like that.”

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