The Big 12 has made the decision to replace a new glass, LED court with a hardwood court at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., where the conference tournament is being held.
According to CBS Sports, commissioner Brett Yormark made the decision late Thursday night to make a drastic switch before Friday's Big 12 Tournament semifinals. The controversial glass floor, which was essentially a large liquid crystal display, is gone and a traditional hardwood court is being brought in and installed overnight.
"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. "We look forward to a great semifinals and championship game."
Preparations for the change began midday Thursday after an obvious increase in slippage during the Texas Tech-Iowa State game.
CBS reported that Red Raiders All-Big 12 guard Christian Anderson was injured midway through the second half of Tech's loss to Iowa State, though Anderson said afterward the injury wasn't serious and he expects to recover soon.
"It's pretty bad," Wildcats forward Taj Manning said. "It's a bad floor. They shouldn't bring it back."
Kansas head coach Bill Self told reporters that changing out the court was "the right thing to do."
The logistics of changing out the court are routine and done regularly when converting the venue from a concert at night to a basketball game the following day.
"I think commissioner Yormark's intent was to broaden the scope, think outside the box and that was probably the right decision. And I'm sure after what the narrative is now, he'll make the right decision," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "If this was a concert tonight and we had a game tomorrow, no different than that. ... Nobody had an advantage or disadvantage, but I think for our league, he'll make the right decision."
