McRoberts still in class after declaring for NBA draft

Josh McRoberts may have stepped onto the court in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the last time as a player, but he isn't quite done stepping into the classroom as a student.

The sophomore big man declared himself eligible for the NBA draft just a week after the Blue Devils were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.

"We support Josh and his desire to go to the NBA," assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "At the same time, Josh has done a great job since he has declared of doing what he's supposed to do in the classroom. He wants what's best for himself, but he also wants what's best for Duke, and in that regard he's done the things that he needs to do to fulfill his requirements in the classroom."

According to a rule instituted by the NCAA two years ago, McRoberts must maintain his academic eligibility regardless of his intent to leave for the NBA or else the Duke program could risk being penalized.

The Academic Progress Rate, which tracks the in-class success of all student-athletes, was implemented by the NCAA to prevent athletes from shirking their responsibilities in the classroom. If a team's rate does not consistently exceed a certain target, the NCAA plans to penalize them by revoking up to ten percent of their scholarships.

The NCAA adopted the rule because the traditional method of evaluating a team's academic success-graduation rate-was criticized by some as an untimely and inaccurate measure of players' academic performances.

"With the old graduation rates, there was always a lag time," said Chris Kennedy, senior associate director of athletics. "If you get a graduation rate, by the time you've got it, those students have been gone two years. This way, you can look at a program and see how it's doing right now, because it measures eligibility and retention."

Under the new rules, each student-athlete can earn two APR points for his or her team-one for staying academically eligible and one for staying in school. By rewarding schools for both keeping students eligible and retaining them, the APR effectively punishes teams whose players leave early for the professional level.

For the Blue Devils, losing only one retention point for McRoberts going to the NBA would not likely subject them to NCAA penalties, as the team has a relatively high APR-but losing two points could be more significant.

From the team's perspective, McRoberts' performance for the rest of this semester is just as important for him as it is for the program.

"We want all of our players to graduate and we believe all of the kids we bring in here want to graduate," Wojciechowski said. "When kids leave early for the NBA, it's a matter of working with them to figure out a plan to help them do that. We've had guys like Jason [Williams], like Mike Dunleavy, who have left early and who have come back and finished their degree."

Both Wojciechowski and Kennedy pointed to the Williams situation as a particularly salient example. Williams, who graduated the summer after he was drafted, had his professional career derailed by a motorcycle accident in 2003. In such circumstances, a Duke degree becomes even more valuable.

For the sake of both the student and the University, the team and the athletic department work hard to make student-athletes like McRoberts understand the balance between professional sports and academics.

"If the kid has the ability to be a lottery pick and go to the NBA and make millions of dollars-and that's what they have to do to capitalize on that window-that's what they do," Wojciechowski said. "Even while that's happening, we talk to our guys about coming back and getting a degree and putting on their wall not only the NBA jerseys that they've worn but also a Duke degree."