Big East wants rule change
The Big East has recommended replacing oneand-done with a two-or-none policy in college basketball, along with NCAA regulation of agents and the creation of an elite player unit to focus on “players with realistic aspirations of playing in the NBA.”
The Big East’s recommendations come a week after a similar report by the Pac-12 for the NCAA’s commission on college basketball. The commission was created in response to a federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.
The Big East’s plan calls for the elimination of the NBA’s one-and-done rule, which prohibits its teams from drafting players until they are at least 19 or a year removed from high school.
Two-or-none would be an NCAA policy requiring basketball players who decide to go to college to commit for at least two seasons. High school players who declare for the NBA draft would forfeit future college eligibility.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Arizona freshman big man Deandre Ayton is leaving early for the NBA after one dominating season.
Ayton made the announcement that he will declare for this June’s NBA draft on his Twitter feed Wednesday.
The 7-foot-1, 260-pound Ayton was named the Pac-12 player of the year after averaging 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.
Padgett out at Louisville: Louisville has let David Padgett go after one season as the Cardinals’ interim men’s basketball coach.
Padgett went 22-14 after being elevated from second-year Louisville assistant last fall after the school placed coach Rick Pitino on unpaid administrative leave following its acknowledgment that it was being investigated in a federal corruption probe of college basketball. Pitino was fired in October after 16 seasons.
TENNIS
Serena Williams lost in the first round of the Miami Open, still rusty in her comeback from pregnancy and unable to overcome a tough draw against Naomi Osaka, who won, 6-3, 6-2.
The 20-year-old Osaka, who earned her first career title on Sunday at Indian Wells, showed no signs of letup and overpowered the erratic Williams.
HOCKEY
The NHL could change its goaltender interference rules as soon as the playoffs that begin April 11.
The league’s general managers recommended shifting the decision on a coach’s challenge for goalie interference from on-ice officials to the league’s situation room in Toronto. The board of governors and NHL/NHL Players’ Association competition committee must approve the change.