It was fitting Bill Self was on the road pursuing high school basketball talent Thursday, the day the controversial, crippling 5-and-8 recruiting rule was rescinded.

“It’s a good day for college basketball. A bad rule is dead,” Self, Kansas University’s basketball coach, said in a phone interview before in-home visits with a pair of juniors — Micah Downs, 6-foot-8 of Bothell, Wash.; and Terrence Williams, 6-7 from Seattle.

“It will not affect this year as much as future years because the timing is so late,” added Self, who suddenly has three scholarships to award this spring. “One (signee) would be great, two exceptional and three will not happen.”

Before the KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway-led Board of Directors voted to rescind the 5-and-8 rule, which let programs sign a maximum of five players in one year and eight during a two-year span, KU had just one scholarship to give.

Now, the Jayhawks — who are pursuing Malik Hairston, Alex Galindo and will pursue C.J. Giles if he’s released from his Miami letter-of- intent — are free to ink three.

“The rule affected new coaches as much as anybody,” Self said. “It’s been the case with us this postseason as far as departures.”

KU lost underclassmen David Padgett, Omar Wilkes and Moulaye Niang because they will transfer, and Jeff Graves and Bryant Nash to graduation, leaving the Jayhawks three below the limit of 13 scholarships.

“This will affect our program in that we’ll be able to put a better product on floor eventually because we’ll be able to fill our rosters without so much strategy involved,” Self explained. “Before, you’d say, ‘We can’t recruit him, because that would only give us three next year.’ This will take strategy out and allow schools to recruit people to fill needs.”

The Board of Directors was happy to do away with the rule, as well as approve an “incentive/disincentive” academic reform package so sweeping Hemenway called it “a historic day for the NCAA.”

“With so much progress having been made, combined with the pieces already in place, the 5-8 rule probably was unnecessary,” Hemenway said. “We felt it had unintended consequences.”

NCAA to settle future of 5-and-8 rule (4-29-04)

The Board approved reforms that will penalize schools starting in 2006 for poor performances in the classroom. Athletes will have to stay above a to-be-determined graduation rate in order for schools to avoid punishment.

Schools that fall below a certain standard will receive warning letters beginning in 2006-07. Consistently poor-performing teams could begin losing scholarships in 2007-08 and postseason eligibility from NCAA tournaments starting in 2008-09.

Also, if a scholarship athlete leaves school while not academically eligible, that scholarship would not be replaced for one year under a “contemporaneous” penalty that goes into effect this fall.

“I don’t think that’s a bad rule,” Self said. “If players do decide to transfer, then obviously it’s a school’s responsibility to make sure they are going to class and maintaining progress.

“With every rule there could be exceptions, like what if a young man gets sick or something (and couldn’t complete the semester).”

Hemenway said the reforms, with penalties to back tougher standards, send a message to athletes “that if you come to our institutions, we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure you graduate.

“I think what we did today will result in enhanced standards, in improved measurements of how successfully those standards are being met, and a significant increase in accountability on the part of the institutions, athletic departments, individual teams and individual student-athletes,” Hemenway said.

The board previously voted to increase the number of core courses needed for freshman eligibility and to increase the number of hours required toward graduation to remain eligible.

Another piece of the package, approved last fall, required athletes to complete 20 percent of their degree requirements each year to remain eligible.

Self has no problem with the comprehensive reform package.

“Coaches are hired to put players in the best position to obtain degrees,” he said. “If you are doing your job and doing it right, there could be exceptions. But this rule is based on people not consistently doing things right.”

• More recruiting: Hairston, a 6-5 senior guard from Detroit, will visit Oklahoma on Saturday, Michigan on Sunday and possibly pick a college next week. His dad told Shay Wildeboor of rivals.com KU, Michigan and UCLA are better fits for his son than OU, Oregon and Ohio State. … Seattle’s Williams says he’ll visit KU on May 15. His Rainier Beach teammate — Giles — wants a release from Miami so he can visit KU, Washington and Arizona.
• Padgett to visit UL?: Rick Pitino’s Louisville team has been mentioned as a possible destination of KU freshman Padgett, who has elected to transfer. Padgett considered Louisville as a senior in high school. Contrary to rumors, Padgett has not yet visited the Louisville campus. UCLA and Stanford also have been mentioned as possibilities for the 6-11 Padgett.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.