NABC reacts to early recruiting / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, June 20, 2008

By Michael Marot - Associated Press Sports Writer

June 20, 2008

Recruiting the young (06-20-08)

Indianapolis — If college basketball coaches have their way, Michael Avery would be the last eighth-grader making a college commitment.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches said Thursday it strongly opposes accepting commitments from students who have not yet completed their sophomore season in high school. The decision comes a little more than a month after the 15-year-old Avery said he would Kentucky, and cites NCAA rules that prohibit coaches from contacting athletes before mid-June following their sophomore season.

"If the current rules state coaches cannot offer scholarships or accept commitments from students earlier than June 15 following the conclusion of the sophomore year, it certainly makes sense that this should apply to anyone in lower grades," said NABC president Tubby Smith in a written statement.

The board of directors said the decision was made, in part, because younger athletes had not yet demonstrated either "sufficient academic credentials" to be admitted to school. The board also acknowledged it was too difficult to project how refined their basketball skills would be by graduation.

Avery's decision last month reignited the national debate about how young is too young for coaches to be recruiting players.

It's not a new phenomenon. Indianapolis native Cordell Passley committed to Tennessee, where his older brother played, during his sophomore season. Eventually, he withdrew the commitment and wound up playing at a junior college in southeastern Indiana.

And the high-profile early recruitment of former Indiana Mr. Basketball and Hoosiers star Damon Bailey was detailed in a book during the 1980s.

Smith, the coach at Minnesota and Billy Gillespie's predecessor at Kentucky, believes the unknowns of how well a player will develop in the classroom and on the court are the biggest reason coaches should wait to make offers.

"The academic and athletic profiles of these younger students are still very much works in progress," Smith said. "Coaches and athletes need to respect the process and allow development to occur in both areas prior to making commitments."

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20 June 2008
at 3:33 a.m.

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TopJayhawk (Anonymous) says…

Kentucky is desperate.. They know they are not “top drawer” anymore. They also know that a lot of schools are owing them payback, and they are desperate to not have everyone pounding on them like a redheaded stepchild.
20 June 2008
at 1 p.m.

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pimp11 (Anonymous) says…

So explain USC and Tim Floyd with his offer to a 14 year old…..Why not go after them early if it is allowed. I dont blame them. Is it right? No. Any athlete or competitor knows to get the upper hand on their competition. That is what these schools are gambling on. Rules need to change for the sake of the game.
20 June 2008
at 1:13 p.m.

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mommaeffortx2 (Anonymous) says…

why so they get away with this heck at that age most of these kids do not even know what they want for dinner let alone what or where they want to go play in three years wait until their jr. or senoir years I say senoir.