NCAA rule changes harm prep basketball prospects

“Sweeping” reforms to college basketball recruiting and the preNBA Draft process were announced by the NCAA Aug. 8.

Notable changes relevant to high school players include the ability for “elite” prospects to have official relationships with agents, the reduction of the July recruiting period to one weekend and the creation of camp-style events coordinated by the NCAA, USA Basketball, the NBA and NBA Players Association.

At face value, the new rules that take effect in 2019 don’t appear to combat the level of corruption which spurred this spring’s FBI investigation into college basketball. The Commission on College Basketball, formed by NCAA president Mark Emmert and chaired by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, made recommendations that look like they moved the goal- posts on college basketball’s corruption issues — but didn’t create any meaningful solution.

The changes figure to do more harm than good for high school basketball prospects hoping to find their way to a Division I college program.

The adjustment to allow for elite high school prospects won’t take effect until high school players are allowed to enter the NBA Draft, a change not expected to occur until at least 2021. But a distinct irony exists in the inclusion of agents into the recruitment process when their activity was part of what created college basketball’s myriad problems that prompted FBI involvement.

For the record, the ability for the best high school players to declare for the NBA Draft will be a welcome development. For many student-athletes, the eight months they spend at a college program before leaving to train for the draft in the spring is a waste of time.

Top one-and-done players would benefit more from a year with an NBA franchise, where their basketball development is emphasized, as opposed to a semester of college coursework that all parties know is on the backburner.

NBA teams, especially with the improvement of the G-League, are more equipped to handle and develop 18-yearold players as opposed to the late-1990s and earlyaughts. That’s not to say there will be more careers like those of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett, but it should reduce the likelihood prep-to-pro players will bust.

But as far as agents are concerned, what constitutes an “elite” prospect? Supposedly, USA Basketball will be charged with determining who qualifies. But it was widely reported the assignment of such a responsibility “blindsided” the organization.

Most concerning for high school players, especially those who aren’t considered “elite,” is the reduction of July’s recruiting calendar to one weekend.

Previously, college coaches had three weekends to evaluate prospects during the second “live period.” Now, only one weekend of attendance at sanctioned, non-scholastic events on the AAU circuit is permitted in early July. Such a change won’t impact the top prospects in a class, but decreases exposure for potential latebloomers or other fringe prospects fighting for offers.

The other major opportunity for evaluation will come in the form of the camps run by the NCAA, NBA, USA Basketball and NBAPA. According to the original proposal, the camps will include 1,100 rising seniors, possibly as many as 1,000 juniors, a much lower number of sophomores and no freshmen.

Similar to the issue of who can hire agents, who receives invitations to these camps raises further questions. A glance at top recruiting outlets shows high variance in rankings and evaluations of top prospects in each class — which adds to the burdens the NCAA’s seemingly shifted to other entities.

Unscrupulous individuals won’t halt their endeavors simply because of any reforms, but the NCAA didn’t take any legitimate steps to make those pursuits more difficult.

In the process, it appears an added hurdle now exists for high school basketball players trying to find their way to the next level.