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Big 12 tournament glass LED court 'slippery,' caused migraines, players say
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- Big 12 tournament glass LED court 'slippery,' caused migraines, players say
Editor's note: The Big 12 is returning to a hardwood court for the rest of the men's conference tournament.
One of the beautiful things about basketball at its core is the versatility of it. It can be played on blacktop or hardwood, but the 2026 Big 12 Tournament is adding another surface to the mix: glass.
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While the LED court isn't new by any means — the technology has been in play abroad since 2008 and the women just played on the same surface at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City for their conference tournament — it's the first time some fans are seeing it.
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The decision to utilize the floor has been met with mixed reception. While some have praised the court's innovation, a word Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has repeatedly used to describe it, others have been skeptical of how it would affect play.
After a full day of play on the men's side, reviews of the floor were lukewarm to bad.
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"It's pretty bad, to be honest," said Kansas State's Taj Manning after the Wildcats were eliminated with a loss. "It's slippery. The lights and stuff caused (Kansas State forward Khamari McGriff) to get a migraine. It's a bad floor, they shouldn't bring it back, if you want my honest opinion ... It's just an eyesore, it's constantly changing and stuff. With flashing different lights and all that. Nobody wants to play on that thing, just want the normal hardwood."
Athletes at a certain level are obviously creatures of habit, and the introduction of the floor is disruptive to those habits.
The floor, developed by German company ASB GlassFloor, was also referred to as slippery.
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"The traction, to be honest with you, is really good, but when you go really, really hard, you slip," said Arizona State guard Allen Mukeba, per The Athletic . "You're gonna slip, for sure. I think it's more like the shoes and the court, they don't really match that much."
Keba Kaita of BYU took a spill and left the game for a bit, but didn't have much to say about the court itself postgame.
"It's nice," he said, per Pat Forde. "It's cool. Good-looking court. But I don't know how I feel about playing on it."
Perhaps the simplest way to refer to the new court is "a lot." While it creates a ton of possibility for in-game graphics and can elevate the fan experience, the question as the tournament progresses will be if it hinders the gameplay. While it mostly didn't appear to on the women's side, it will have another test as the week goes on.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Big 12's glass LED floor had mixed reviews after full day of games
