KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas doesn't play its Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal until Thursday, and under normal circumstances, the Jayhawks would've skipped entirely the opportunity to spend 30 minutes three days ahead of time practicing inside the familiar T-Mobile Center.
But when coach Bill Self crossed paths with Brandon Schneider, whose women's team had just played on the new, high-tech glass floor installed at the downtown Kansas City arena,
he was convinced that those 30 minutes might be worthwhile.
“The floor was fine,” Self said afterward, “but it did seem a little different from a traction standpoint than the majority of courts are.”
That's been the general assessment of the floor: Much like ice, it's a little bit slick but pretty cool.
"It's really cool. It's really cool-looking," BYU women's player Brinley Cannon said, "but it definitely is a little bit of a different feel.”
The Big 12 announced last month that it would be playing its men's and women's tournaments on the surface, which is produced by ASB GlassFloor and has been used at the NBA All-Star Game and in Europe but never during an official competition in the U.S.
Rather than traditional wood, the floor has an aluminum and steel spring-action design that is supposed to mimic the flexibility of hardwood. The LED panels, which allow the league to 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: Numerous players have slipped when they might not otherwise.
“I will say it was a little slippery in some areas,” Kansas women's player Elle Evans admitted.
There are a whole lot of other differences that come with such an unusual court.
When players hit the ground, rather than traditional brooms, workers wearing black jumpsuits that say “Windex Glass Care Team” on the back scurry onto the floor with specialized mops to clean up. Sometimes, they spray a cleaning solution before wiping it away.
Just how you might clean your windows at home.
Team logos are prominently displayed during introductions. During timeouts, the 3-point line, half-court line and lane lines morph into flashing red lasers. When someone dunks, the entire interior of the 3-point arc lights up as if it's shattered glass.
“There was one of the media timeouts where the graphic on the court started to move,” BYU women's coach Lee Cummard said, only half-jokingly, “and it kind of freaked me out a little bit, right?
“I wasn’t paying attention to the court,” Cummard added, “but in pregame introductions, the whole court being lit up in BYU blue and their names being the whole court, I thought that was as cool of a thing I’ve seen as far as pregame introductions.”
One group that seems to like the slightly springy aspect of the court: the officials.
"Every official last week came up and said, ‘Brett, this is going to help me — if we ever play on this court again — it’s going to prolong my career,' because it provides shock absorption for their knees," Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. “Beyond that I haven't heard much, to be honest with you. But we encourage all the key stakeholders to provide us feedback.”
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