New NCAA legislation that took effect Monday may significantly affect the recruiting timetable for Division I men's basketball programs.
One of the major provisions, which were approved by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors last November, moved up the date when a recruit can make his first official visit to a school from the first day of classes his senior year to Jan. 1 his junior year. The legislation, designed in part to make valuable advice from college coaches available to potential players, will likely mean earlier commitments from prospects.
Christopher Kennedy, Duke's associate director of athletics, said the recruiting change may have an impact on Duke's program. The University does not have a set point at which it begins its admissions process for athletes, he said, but rather it varies with each case. Many schools, including Duke, often accept athletes earlier than regular students.
"It's reflective of the way everything is getting pushed earlier," he said.
Kennedy added that he expected an equilibrium point to emerge, when schools would demand a certain level of achievement from high school before admitting students.
The NCAA legislation also strengthens the certification process for summer basketball events, and allows for a telephone call to prospects in March of their junior year.
Basketball programs pursue most recruits throughout their senior years and often earlier. Recruits usually verbally commit to a school and then sign a national letter of intent in November of their senior year. A growing handful of recruits, however, choose to make their verbal commitment during their junior or even sophomore years.
"You have two years of grades, five semesters, not even a test score," Kennedy said of admitting high school sophomores, a practice he said most institutions are wary of.
Johnny Dawkins, Duke's associate head coach, did not rule out the practice. "It's not totally out of the realm of possibility that you'll see [commitments from sophomores]," he said.
The NCAA proposals were recommended by the Men's Basketball Issues Committee, of which Duke men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski is a member.
Doug Fullerton, commissioner of the Big Sky Conference and a member of the committee, said the new rules reflect concerns about how prospects are informed.
"We've created an interesting situation in men's basketball, where we protect the student-athlete from contact with the coaches so that the only people they can rely on for information are the people who we don't necessarily want them to rely on," he said.
Recruits are getting advice, Fullerton said, from less authoritative figures, such as summer coaches and individuals who follow recruits.
Fullerton said the legislation had little to do with the growing number of high school students who opt for the NBA instead of college. He said he does not mind when high school students go to the NBA, but that he worries about students who get bad advice, fail in their attempts at a career in the NBA and are then no longer eligible to play in college.
"The advantages it has for recruits is if you have an inclination and narrowed it down, it gives you an opportunity to be able to make the decision earlier and get it out of the way," Dawkins said. "When you're being recruited by every school in the country, it's daunting."
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