New Draft Declaration Rule Is Unfair

There's a lot of discussion each year about new rules that the NCAA makes pertaining to recruiting. Last year, text messaging players became illegal. This year, attending April weekend tournaments has been banned, and ACC coaches are pushing for another major rule change: Players must declare for the NBA Draft by the day before the spring signing period, which is April 15.

Now, the rule as it stands now allows players to wait until early June, just before the Draft, to make a final decision. If ACC coaches get their way, players will have about a week if their team makes the Final Four.

ACC coaches argue that players holding out to decide hurts the coaches' recruiting. Not knowing whether or not a player is going or staying leaves a potential spot on their roster in lingo. And it leaves a coach at a disadvantage with a recruit because the coach may not end up with a scholarship to give. Plus, coaches say, there's plenty of time to think about the decision during the season.

From the player's perspective, it's just as difficult. Seth Davis makes some good points in his column on Tuesday, which is linked for you in the first paragraph. Many players who are in the position to decide whether to stay or go don't necessarily have it easy. There's a ton of pressure on the players to bolt for the bucks.

People seem to forget that a lot of college athletes like college. I mean, who wouldn't? They have accomodations for everything, from one-on-one tutoring to meal stipends that end up lining their pockets. They get free stuff. They have layers upon layers of nets to make sure they don't slip through the cracks. They play 30-plus game schedules in front of crazy fans on national television. They go to parties and drink for free, all while being treated like celebrities on campus.

What's not to like?

But more importantly, and Davis makes this point very well in his column, the pre-Draft camps and individual workouts are a great way to measure where a player fits in the upcoming Draft. Scouts and NBA teams are never happy with just in-season reports. They want to see a player in person. In the flesh. Jumping. Sprinting. Shooting. All that stuff. You can't get that kind of in-depth scouting when, on any given night, a guy is playing with at least seven or eight players who will never make the NBA.

This rule would be wrong. It's not fair to the players. I've heard some rumblings of a loophole, where players would say they're staying at school, then declare for the Draft right before the deadline. Surely that loophole would be closed if the ACC coaches get their way.

Coaches and schools are already allowed to refuse release from scholarships for kids who want to transfer. They're already in control of a player's every move while he's at school. How is it fair to give coaches and schools control of a kid's future? And if it's about money, give me a break. A coach makes money off a kid while he's at school. Let the kid make money off himself when he's good and ready, and enjoy the kid while he provides his services to the school.

Elsewhere
-- Speaking of recruiting, how's this for fun news? Give us five years and babies will start verbally committing to schools before leaving the womb.

-- Can you believe a CNN.com headline said, "Obamas juggle Inaugural balls"?

-- Remember John McCain?

-- Big games tonight: Villanova at UConn on ESPN at 7; Clemson tries to break its 53-game winless streak at North Carolina at 9 on ESPN; and Arizona and Arizona State battle for state supremacy at 9:30.