Glenn
04-22-2009, 11:21 AM
From DX...
NBA draft entrants to get shorter decision time (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2009-04-21-college-underclassmen-nba-draft_N.htm)
Steve Wieberg of USA Today reports that the NCAA has voted to make sweeping changes to their rules that would severely restrict the ability of college basketball players to “test the waters” starting next year.
Starting next year, college underclassmen will get a lot less time to mull a jump into the NBA draft.
An NCAA panel voted Monday to compress the time frame, giving non-seniors who enter the draft until May 8 to decide whether to keep their names in the pool or resume their college careers. That's more than a month earlier than the NBA's mid-June withdrawal deadline.
No longer will draft entrants who go unpicked have the option of returning to the college game. The NCAA had given them until 30 days after the draft — until late July — to declare their intent to return to school.
The NCAA's new deadline is designed, in part, to settle team rosters and give coaches time to replace departed players before the spring signing period expires. Prospects can sign letters of intent this year until May 20.
Proponents say it also will allow underclassmen who pull out of the draft more time to refocus on academics and lessen "the potential for outside individuals to have a negative influence."
This is obviously a huge development, which that is likely to draw considerable criticism considering how self-serving and one-sided a move it appears to be. Many college coaches opposed giving their players such a long period in which they were able to evaluate their professional options because of the fact that it put their recruiting efforts (and thus, their jobs) in limbo until they made a final decision.
As Andy Katz pointed out on his ESPN blog (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4086305&name=katz_andy), this essentially nullifies any chance underclassmen would have at evaluating their NBA draft stock because of the conflict between when the narrow window (this year--April 27th to May 8th) opens and the fact that most schools (http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA-Draft-Roundup-April-22-3189/#) are still in session during that time.
What’s ironic is that, this year more than ever, a large number of very visible college basketball stars elected not to even test the draft waters—illustrating how unnecessary it is to change the rules at this point, since the system is obviously working itself out just fine. What will likely happen next year is that far more players will be forced to jump head-first into the NBA draft waters, since there is no effective method in place that allows them to evaluate their chances of making a living in professional basketball.
NBA draft entrants to get shorter decision time (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2009-04-21-college-underclassmen-nba-draft_N.htm)
Steve Wieberg of USA Today reports that the NCAA has voted to make sweeping changes to their rules that would severely restrict the ability of college basketball players to “test the waters” starting next year.
Starting next year, college underclassmen will get a lot less time to mull a jump into the NBA draft.
An NCAA panel voted Monday to compress the time frame, giving non-seniors who enter the draft until May 8 to decide whether to keep their names in the pool or resume their college careers. That's more than a month earlier than the NBA's mid-June withdrawal deadline.
No longer will draft entrants who go unpicked have the option of returning to the college game. The NCAA had given them until 30 days after the draft — until late July — to declare their intent to return to school.
The NCAA's new deadline is designed, in part, to settle team rosters and give coaches time to replace departed players before the spring signing period expires. Prospects can sign letters of intent this year until May 20.
Proponents say it also will allow underclassmen who pull out of the draft more time to refocus on academics and lessen "the potential for outside individuals to have a negative influence."
This is obviously a huge development, which that is likely to draw considerable criticism considering how self-serving and one-sided a move it appears to be. Many college coaches opposed giving their players such a long period in which they were able to evaluate their professional options because of the fact that it put their recruiting efforts (and thus, their jobs) in limbo until they made a final decision.
As Andy Katz pointed out on his ESPN blog (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4086305&name=katz_andy), this essentially nullifies any chance underclassmen would have at evaluating their NBA draft stock because of the conflict between when the narrow window (this year--April 27th to May 8th) opens and the fact that most schools (http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA-Draft-Roundup-April-22-3189/#) are still in session during that time.
What’s ironic is that, this year more than ever, a large number of very visible college basketball stars elected not to even test the draft waters—illustrating how unnecessary it is to change the rules at this point, since the system is obviously working itself out just fine. What will likely happen next year is that far more players will be forced to jump head-first into the NBA draft waters, since there is no effective method in place that allows them to evaluate their chances of making a living in professional basketball.