Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark scraps high-tech LED court in embarrassing U-turn after players’ fury
Basketball’s 135-year run on hardwood will continue indefinitely after Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark decided to scrap the all-glass LED court installed for the conference tournament in Kansas City.
‘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,’ Yormark said in a statement Thursday night.
Numerous players have slipped when trying to plant during the conference tournament. On Thursday, Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson strained a muscle slipping in the No. 16 Red Raiders’ 75-63 loss to No. 7 Iowa State.
‘Obviously, the floor is a bit slippery,’ Anderson said. ‘I think I just kind of mis-stepped or did a movement that caused me to slip.’
The Big 12 announced last month that it would play the men’s and women’s tournaments on the ASB GlassFloor-made court that has been used at the NBA All-Star Game and in Europe but never before during an official US competition.
‘I personally didn’t have any involvement [in the decision to go to hardwood],’ Kansas coach Bill Self said after the No. 14 Jayhawks beat TCU 78-73 on Thursday night in the last game played on the glass floor. ‘If the other coaches are doing it, (they) have juice and they got more than I got. Because I didn’t have any involvement with that at all.’
Houston’s Joseph Tugler (11) passes as BYU’s AJ Dybantsa (3) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference tourney
A timeout is taken as an LED court is seen during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game between Kansas and TCU in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 tourney
Basketball’s 135-run on hardwood will continue indefinitely after Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark decided to scrap the all-glass LED court installed for the conference tournament
Then he added, ‘I think it’s the right thing to do.’
The glass floor has an aluminum and steel spring-action design that is supposed to mimic the flexibility of hardwood. The LED panels, which display everything from data-driven graphics to advertising, have ceramic coating and little dots etched into the glass that are supposed to create grip that is consistent with traditional surfaces.
The ball seems to bounce like usual, though with a different ‘thudding’ sound. There are a whole lot more squeaks from sneakers than usual. But the biggest difference has been the traction – something fans predicted when the court was unveiled last week.
‘Too bad it’s so slippery…’ one fan wrote on X.
TCU guard Donovyn Hunter (4) and West Virginia forward Kierra Wheeler (22) chase a loose ball during the women’s Big 12 Tournament, which also used the LED court amid complaints
Other fans slammed the move with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.
‘It was very silly of the Big 12 to think that a glass floor would work for high-level competitive basketball,’ a critic wrote on X. ‘If it was feasible at this point, you don’t think the NBA would be using it at every arena to show ads for DraftKings and Palantir?’
‘Absolutely wild that the Big 12 didn’t look into whether a glass LED floor would be slippery before using it for real games,’ another added. ‘They beta-tested it at the risk of players’ ligaments and learned that yes, glass is more slippery than hardwood.’
Several fans were upset to see Yormark make this decision after the women’s tournament, which also used the LED court.
‘No they didn’t own it,’ one critic wrote on X. ‘Because the women had the same experience and complained … but they were forced to continue playing on a poorly tested floor.’
