Thursday, January 15th, 2009 at 11:00 am  |  65 responses

College Ballers Might Get Less Time to Make NBA Decision

by Marcel Mutoni

Less time, as in ten days.

As things currently stand, non-seniors have about a two-month window after they’ve declared themselves eligible for the NBA Draft to make a decision about whether or not to return to school. If the ACC have their way, though, that window will become considerably shorter.

From the Washington Post:

Underclassmen currently have until late April to enter their names in the draft, and until mid-June to pull out and retain their collegiate eligibility so long as they have not signed with an agent. The ACC’s proposal would give players about a 10-day window after the Final Four in April to make a final decision on the draft.

“If you give somebody forever to make a decision, they are going to take forever,” North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said. “It leaves your program in limbo. It leaves your current players in limbo.”

Of course, the over-arching idea here is to decrease the number of underclassmen who declare for the Draft, something that’d make the folks who run college hoops very happy. And if this gets green-lighted, it will certainly have an impact on the way NBA teams go about evaluating talent – with fewer opportunities to work guys out – from the college ranks.

The NCAA Legislative Council is scheduled to vote on the proposal this week.

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  • Fleezy

    roy williams did not say that in support of a 10 day period. that quote was from a press conference a while ago. It was only mentioned in the article because he is a big time coach that thinks two months is too long.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cub Buenning

    Jukai, then, how many “star” players are there really each year? Dude, you are way off on that one. I played DI college basketball and my major was not hoop, nor was it for many other guys I know that followed a similar path.

    Oh and Jukai, what were the names of those players that sold-out all of those seats at Texas Tech????

    Don’t be salty just because your team made one of the largest coaching blunders in the history of organized sports and the current players are negatively reaping what the PRESIDENTS and ATHLETIC DIRECTORS (the real villans-BCS, anyone) sowed.

    I benefited directly from the NCAA process, so I may feel differently than many do.

  • http://www.manutd.com Z

    Cub, we are not talking about the average ncaa players. Those guys do not have to make a decision on turning pro before their eligibility is up. I just find it incredibly selfish to give players 10 days to make a decision that will change their lives. The NCAA is there to stay and it’s an incredible opportunity for 99% of the D1 players to get a free education. However, I find it incredibly stupid to b-tch about guys that know are going to the league choosing not to go to college. Carmelo didn’t need Syracuse, Bonheim needed Melo.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cub Buenning

    Carmelo’s case represents 0.005% of all college athletes, maybe less……

    As others have mentioned, those “chosen ones” are not solely using the 10 days to make this decision

    If this is not about those “average” players, than this actually speaks to a smaller percentage of those “on the fence” or in need extra time to decide whether they should turn pro.

    I have no problem with guys NOT playing college ball (kobe and lebron surely didn’t need it)but again, we are talking about the smallest of percentiles that these ind’ls fall into.

    I ain’t b-tchin…..except about the Prezs & ADs

  • http://www.slamonline.com jedi knight

    Cub so you played d1 ball great for you I scout, but the bigger picture is How does a coach scout players if he doesn’t know for sure who’s going to the league? coaches would be recruiting blindly. Wether RW said it or not it balls down on how early can I recruit. Ex… If my back court puts there name in the draft and then pulls out because the’re not going first round and I’m stuck with the new back court when I really could have used a big man.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cub Buenning

    jedi, sorry, first-hand experience (from both the player and coaching side) in discussions of this nature is probably pretty worthless, anyway…..

    You are making my argument, i think. Or i am just struggling to completely ascertain what side you are on. Seems like you are in favor of the college coaches and the shortening of time.

    BTW, these are not the droids you are looking for….

  • http://fdklf.com Jukai

    That’s GREAT that it changed your life Cub. Really, fantastic. If you’re such an NCAA fan, you should want EVERY star player to go to Europe. Not even joking here. If every star player goes to Europe, then the NCAA’s will be as they were, where tough up-and-coming players played all four years and were drafted after staying most of their college career, which you seem to desperately want.
    I want you to explain to me how this ruling effects those “average” players you keep talking about. To me, this doesn’t seem to have any effect what-so-ever on those average players. It just seems like it effects (negatively) those STAR players you keeping pushing off as minor and all those NBA scouts who now have little to no time to figure out players and tell them if they are NBA ready or not. All this helps are those greedy NCAA execs and THOSE OH-SO-POOR COACHES who make TWO MILLION A YEAR but may be FIRED AFTER TWO SEASONS so they would only make FOUR MILLION oh god my heart goes out to them!!!!
    Cub, there is a LOT of changes that need to take place in the NCAA’s. You’re clouding the issue by trying to explain to me that this will only effect 50-90 so players a year. This is still effecting kids who are poor and need the money as fast as possible but still want to make the right financial decision. Until the exploitation changes, I’ll be rooting for Europe all day long.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cub Buenning

    Jukai…. OK, here we go.

    I don’t want the old NCAA, I like it just fine as it is. If guys can play out of high school; I want them to go to the league. I am also not in favor of any kind of “year-amount” minimum rule, either. You obviously haven’t read much of my stuff and you surely aren’t understanding me at all.
    It DOESN’T affect those “average” players, at all, just a small miniscule percent. And if those guys are so good, they should be more than equipped/ready to make the one decision they have been thinking about their entire lives.

    Why do NBA Scouts have little to no time to figure out who(m) is NBA ready? Dude, that is their job. To watch hours of tape, log hours and hours on planes catching guys in person, come to a conclusion whether a kid can play in the league, and if his team should draft said player. Not to inform those undecided college players if they are good enough to be a first-round pick.

    AGAIN, I just don’t think this proposed change is that big of a deal. Also, “Oh-so-poor” coaches??? I have no pity for them, but i respect the fact that they busted their a$ses to get to the highest level of their profession, where you almost always make top dollar. I’m done with this topic. Too many preconcieved notions about the process of going from an amateur player to a professional one.

    PS-as a side note, the NCAA football season ended a week ago, and all of their players had to declare for the NFL draft, this week.

  • http://www.slamonline.com jedi knight

    Cub yes I am in favor of the shortening of time, but just not to the extreme of 10 days that is simply insane,it takes longer then that just to create a habit did someone forget that these are still teenagers we’re talking about whos at home situations we know nothing about. For the record I personally think each player should obtain a least a 2yr degree before declaring for the league. See Ya

  • Dre

    I am a UNC fan but and I agree and I disagree at the same time. I do think that they should not be able to take forever to make a decision because how do you expect the coach to do their job and go on with their program with athletes dicking around. The coach has to make a living just like these kids want to do but these long drawn out decision can cause coaches to miss a chance at certain athletes that can cause them to keep their job or lose it.

    Then on the other end I think the amount of time the coaches want are unrealistic. I think the players need a certain amount of time to evaluate their situation and make an informed decision.

    All this talk about NCAA slave labor is BS… I think everyone should think logically and not like and emotion driven little child.

  • http://dfjlf.com Jukai

    Wow, NCAA football, the perfect example of what college sports SHOULD be. Or is it the exact opposite?
    This is ridiculous, saying that this rule wont effect many NCAA players so its not such a big deal. This hurts more organizations (the players going pros, the NBA in general) more than it helps people (a couple of college teams with one star player). Bad form all around.

  • pigott17

    in a way thats fair go.

    coz college is obviously a buisness for coaches and wat not,and if you wanna get ur payday and stay in the job you gotta put up the W’s.and if you dont no who u got till waaay late well then its no hope

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cub Buenning

    Jukai, you’re right. I was using that football example of what it COULD be. If you think it’s bad for hoops, at least we have a playoff and aren’t ruled by the acronymial atrocity known as the BCS. I don’t hear NFL people saying that their “one-week” window hurts their product. It just means that Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. have to cram their entire existence into the month of January.

    I am not so sure there isn’t some NBA influence, though, in here and I am still uncertain as to how this would hurt the NBA?

    Dre, thank you for those last two sentences.

  • http://www.hibachi20.blogspot.com Hursty

    My 2 Cents:
    2 months to 10 days is BS. Straight up. Find a middle ground. 1 month sounds about right to ME. It gives kids an opportunity to see which teams may be interested in them (or not) and where they’d fall in the draft. It also gives NBA scouts enough time to evaluate kids (which they’d been likely doing for the last 2-5 years anyways). Same with colleges. Time for them to get their affairs in order and still get the kids they want (in the majority of cases).
    I don’t feel particularly sorry for the coaches though. They make more than the players too. With great $ comes great stress and great responsibility.
    It sucks if they lose a job, but if they’re good enough, they’ll find another home and another multi-million dollar contract.

  • http://www.hibachi20.blogspot.com Hursty

    The coaches I DO feel sorry for are the ones who are mid-major to low(?)- majors. They don’t have the buying or selling powere to attract major stars, and if they end up with a Devan George (or another low level college player good enough to turn pro) who is the soul of the program, not for 1 or 2 years like KD and DJ for Texas, but a 4 year guy like Morrison who sticks through everything and helps the team become a winner. When that kid leaves, the head coach, assistants, scouts and everyone else involved in the program suffer. It’s not their fault- the kid stayed all 4 years- but that might’ve been their only time to ‘be someone’ as a coach and another contract may not be as forth-coming….Do I really have a rock solid point? Not really lol. It’s just my thoughts on the matter.

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