KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KXXV) — The Big 12 Championship Tournament in Kansas City is making headlines, but not for the games.
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The new LED glass court takes center stage. A new court designed to make games more exciting and the athletes immediately felt a change.
"I think just like anything it takes getting used to. We played with a Nike ball, and it was a Wilson ball. It's just different," Baylor men's basketball head coach Scott Drew said.
"Yeah, it's just different, a different experience, a different floor. I've never played on it before, so I don't know; it was a first for everything," Baylor men's basketball sophomore, Cameron Carr said.
The court received mixed reviews from coaches and players as simple fundamentals of the game became not so simple.
"It's a challenge at times. It's obviously a different surface than what we're used to playing on, and there were some challenging moments," Texas Tech men's basketball head coach Grant McCasland said.
"The quickness and the guard play and stop-start and change in direction, it just has a different response than what we're used to," McCasland said.
In one such case, we also saw players getting hurt.
"The floor is a bit slippery, so I think I just, kind of misstepped or did a movement that caused me to um slip and kind of ended up in a little unnatural position," Texas Tech sophomore Christian Anderson said.
This resulted in Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark issuing a statement saying:
"After consultation with the coaches of our four semifinal teams, I have decided that in order 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."
For these players, whether it's the hardwood or an LED glass court, the drive to win remains.
"Obviously some people are slipping and sliding, but it is what it is, you gotta get out there and play at the end of the day," Baylor women's basketball junior, Ella Brow, said.
The Big 12 Tournament comes to an end, but the LED court experience will not soon be forgotten.
