Whether or not a proposal to eliminate a crucial recruiting period in college basketball goes through, one thing seems certain: It has created the firestorm of reaction among coaches that it was meant to create.
In September, the Conference Commissioners Association recommended a ban on the July recruiting period starting in 2011 or 2012.
The two 10-day periods in July are essential to most coaches. They allow them, in an economical and efficient way, to evaluate a high volume of high school players at a few AAU or camp events.
That environment, though, has helped foster problems with agents and advisers who get close to players with the hopes of cashing in later.
Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner Tom Yeager said the proposal is meant to let coaches know the commissioners are serious about cleaning up what he called "the seedier elements of the whole recruiting process."
"Everyone concedes that men's basketball recruiting is a mess, and it needs some decisive and creating thinking to correct it," Yeager said. "To the extent that the commissioners' recommendations started a serious dialogue and got people's attention, kind of mission accomplished. Now let's see where it goes from there."
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors is scheduled to consider the recommendation today. If passed, it would be put into the 2011 legislative cycle for discussion.
Most coaches think the proposal is an overreaction. They aren't happy about the prospect of losing their only offseason recruiting period and significantly impacting the way they put together their teams.
An April recruiting period was eliminated a few years ago.
Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg said would be "a huge mistake" to eliminate the July period because it's fiscally prudent to "see the masses" in a few settings.
"I just think that they can't legislate morality," he said. "Let's make the right decision. Do we cut it back? Yes. Two seven-day periods [in July] and give us April back. That would make sense. [April] was two weekends. That would be a great compromise. But to eliminate it is not going to resolve the problem.
"You're gonna see even more kids transfer. Let's face it: Three or four hundred kids transferred last year. If we don't have opportunities to evaluate them, more and more kids -- and universities -- are going to make bad decisions."
Greenberg said ACC coaches voted unanimously at their media day "to spearhead a move to keep July viable."
The National Association of Basketball Coaches has come out against the proposal, according to The Associated Press. CAA coaches contacted also were against it, and Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade told The AP the conference sent a letter to the Board of Directors and NCAA President Mark Emmert saying it wanted to keep the July period. Richmond is a member of the A-10.
George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said he believes eliminating it "will emphasize -- not de-emphasize -- AAU people."
"AAU people and scouting services will become far more important in the process, because they'll be the ones who have seen the kids," he said. "Rather than that being someone on my staff, it's going to be someone I have a relationship with or actually buy their scouting service.
"The less contact with the kids and the high school coaches and family, the more you empower the agents and the runners."
Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart said he believes there are two different issues at work: college coaches who bend the rules, and the outside influences.
"There's no one-size-fits-all for the recruiting calendar," he said. "But I think the more important point is that people want to fix the problems of recruiting by changing the calendar. First of all, there is no perfect calendar, and second of all, if there was, that's not going to keep certain schools from breaking the rules. It's not going to keep certain influences out of recruiting.
"I don't think [the proposal] will happen. Certainly it's an attention-grabber, and I think that's what the conference commissioners were trying to accomplish."
