New NCAA rules on going pro and returning to school

[drummerdevil]

http://www.ncaa.org/about/flexibilit...getting-degree

A couple of the major things talked about in this article - "elite" players (determined by USA basketball) can sign an agent before their senior season of high school and players who go undrafted can now go back to school.

[CameronBornAndBred]

http://www.ncaa.org/about/flexibilit...getting-degree

A couple of the major things talked about in this article - "elite" players (determined by USA basketball) can sign an agent before their senior season of high school and players who go undrafted can now go back to school.

Every player on every team is gonna declare for the draft now.

[drummerdevil]

Every player on every team is gonna declare for the draft now.

That was my first thought as well - honestly every single collegiate player might just declare, no reason not to.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Every player on every team is gonna declare for the draft now.

Although, there seems to be a caveat.

College basketball players who request an Undergraduate Advisory Committee evaluation, participate in the NBA combine and aren’t drafted can return to school as long as they notify their athletics director of their intent by 5 p.m. the Monday after the draft.

That would limit the number. What if you declare, don't get invited, and stay in the draft? Do you still get to go back to school? Or should that be the writing on the wall that you aren't gonna get picked?

[MarkD83]

I believe the NBA combine is by invitation, so if a player is not invited to the combine than it is a good clue that a player won't be drafted.

I actually like this rule and even though there is a fear that a lot of players will declare for the draft giving them the choice to return to school is letting the player have more control of their own destiny.

[jwillfan]

In baseball you don't declare - teams can draft anyone as long as they are eligible (in HS or 3 years in college, I think).

Read an article about a rookie this season for the Red Sox that was drafted after his junior season and didn't get the signing bonus $$ he wanted so went back for his senior year.

Lots of permutations here - I imagine teams can figure out who the good players are

[OldPhiKap]

I actually like this rule and even though there is a fear that a lot of players will declare for the draft giving them the choice to return to school is letting the player have more control of their own destiny.

I agree with this. The kid should not have to gamble on what happens when deciding whether to enter the draft or stay. Although that may make recruiting harder and push back commitments, because teams will not know who is coming back until late June or so..

[moonpie23]

it's going to mess with guessing what your roster is gonna look like next year...

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Would Trevon Duval have returned to school if this option had been available to him before he signed with who ever he signed with? Discuss!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

http://www.ncaa.org/about/flexibilit...getting-degree

A couple of the major things talked about in this article - "elite" players (determined by USA basketball) can sign an agent before their senior season of high school and players who go undrafted can now go back to school.

Is this as massive as it appears to be? Agents can pay for athlete expenses? Game-changer.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Protect the kids. Give them more options.

But the fans of amateur sports must hate these changes.

[kAzE]

Would Trevon Duval have returned to school if this option had been available to him before he signed with who ever he signed with? Discuss!

I think so . . . if he were drafted at all next year, especially if he was able to somehow get into the first round, he'd be making a lot more money than on his current 2-way deal with the Bucks (even with the lost year of income). True, he would have to do schoolwork, and there's a reasonable chance that he would have lost some playing time, but IMO he had a very good freshman year, and with even just normal freshman to sophomore improvement, would have been one of the best point guards in the ACC, if not the country, as well as getting tons of exposure on television. I don't think there's any doubt Trevon would have benefited from this rule.

But plenty of other teams would be getting some really good players back as well, so it's not totally clear whether or not it would have helped our title chances.

[duke79]

Is this as massive as it appears to be? Agents can pay for athlete expenses? Game-changer.

Admittedly, I just skimmed the press release from the NCAA but, putting on my lawyer's hat, the new rules seem somewhat vague and it may take time to flesh out how they will actually work but it seems like the NCAA is STARTING to acknowledge and deal with the reality of what is really going on!

[UrinalCake]

Every player on every team is gonna declare for the draft now.

Every player could have declared for the draft previously, but not all of them did. I think guys have a good general idea of where they stand. The only change is that it pushes back the timeline for when they can return to school, making it after the draft. That is significant, but I would expect it to affect maybe one or two players at most each year.

The most significant new change is allowing agents. I like this change as I have believed for a long time that players deserve to have professional representation when their careers and livelihood is at stake. But this also raises a host of new questions.
- how will agents be certified? The NCAA says that programs will certify agents, not the NCAA. This seems like a terrible idea. No consistency across the board. Can a school just "certify" whoever they want to be an agent? And my prediction is that certain schools will enter into agreements with certain agents, and then use those relationships as a recruiting tool. Come play for us and we'll connect you with agent X.
- what happens if an agent breaks the rules? Does he become de-certified? Do we really expect certain schools who have a history of breaking the rules (cough cough) to follow them?
- Only "elite" prospects are allowed to hire agents. Why? Who determines which prospects are elite? Also recall that in that agent's expense report that was leaked by Yahoo several months ago, most of the players named were not "elite" prospects. So what problem is this solving exactly when non-elite prospects are still going to be potentially receiving money under the table?
- Agents can pay for meal and travel expenses. Again, potential for abuse of the system exists. Plenty of ways to funnel money to players now that this channel has been opened. Does anyone really expect the NCAA to monitor every meal received by every player?

[sagegrouse]

- how will agents be certified? The NCAA says that programs will certify agents, not the NCAA. This seems like a terrible idea. No consistency across the board. Can a school just "certify" whoever they want to be an agent? And my prediction is that certain schools will enter into agreements with certain agents, and then use those relationships as a recruiting tool. Come play for us and we'll connect you with agent X.
- what happens if an agent breaks the rules? Does he become de-certified? Do we really expect certain schools who have a history of breaking the rules (cough cough) to follow them?

Here's a brief excerpt frpm the ESPN article. It reads (to me) like the NCAA will have an agent-certification program.

Agents: Effective immediately, the NCAA will allow college players to be represented by NBA-certified agents (the agents must become NCAA-certified no later than Aug. 1, 2020) beginning after any season, as long as they request an evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee. Agents will be permitted to pay for meals and transportation for players and their families during the agent selection process and for meetings with pro teams, if changes are made to agent acts and state laws.
..........
The agent agreements must be in writing and will be terminated when the student enrolls or returns to college.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Every player could have declared for the draft previously, but not all of them did. I think guys have a good general idea of where they stand. The only change is that it pushes back the timeline for when they can return to school, making it after the draft. That is significant, but I would expect it to affect maybe one or two players at most each year.

The most significant new change is allowing agents. I like this change as I have believed for a long time that players deserve to have professional representation when their careers and livelihood is at stake. But this also raises a host of new questions.
- how will agents be certified? The NCAA says that programs will certify agents, not the NCAA. This seems like a terrible idea. No consistency across the board. Can a school just "certify" whoever they want to be an agent? And my prediction is that certain schools will enter into agreements with certain agents, and then use those relationships as a recruiting tool. Come play for us and we'll connect you with agent X.
- what happens if an agent breaks the rules? Does he become de-certified? Do we really expect certain schools who have a history of breaking the rules (cough cough) to follow them?
- Only "elite" prospects are allowed to hire agents. Why? Who determines which prospects are elite? Also recall that in that agent's expense report that was leaked by Yahoo several months ago, most of the players named were not "elite" prospects. So what problem is this solving exactly when non-elite prospects are still going to be potentially receiving money under the table?
- Agents can pay for meal and travel expenses. Again, potential for abuse of the system exists. Plenty of ways to funnel money to players now that this channel has been opened. Does anyone really expect the NCAA to monitor every meal received by every player?

Well, and allowing the agents doesn’t leave undrafted players out in the wind for having representation.

Again, this seems to be a MASSIVE shift by the NCAA, even though we knew something alongs these lines was coming down the pipes.

I am surprised this isn't the lead story on ESPN and other sport sites already.

[sagegrouse]

Well, and allowing the agents doesn’t leave undrafted players out in the wind for having representation.

Again, this seems to be a MASSIVE shift by the NCAA, even though we knew something alongs these lines was coming down the pipes.

I am surprised this isn't the lead story on ESPN and other sport sites already.

As opposed to "Why Will Grier sacked himself from social media" on ESPN's front page.

[killerleft]

Every player could have declared for the draft previously, but not all of them did. I think guys have a good general idea of where they stand. The only change is that it pushes back the timeline for when they can return to school, making it after the draft. That is significant, but I would expect it to affect maybe one or two players at most each year.

The most significant new change is allowing agents. I like this change as I have believed for a long time that players deserve to have professional representation when their careers and livelihood is at stake. But this also raises a host of new questions.
- how will agents be certified? The NCAA says that programs will certify agents, not the NCAA. This seems like a terrible idea. No consistency across the board. Can a school just "certify" whoever they want to be an agent? And my prediction is that certain schools will enter into agreements with certain agents, and then use those relationships as a recruiting tool. Come play for us and we'll connect you with agent X.
- what happens if an agent breaks the rules? Does he become de-certified? Do we really expect certain schools who have a history of breaking the rules (cough cough) to follow them?
- Only "elite" prospects are allowed to hire agents. Why? Who determines which prospects are elite? Also recall that in that agent's expense report that was leaked by Yahoo several months ago, most of the players named were not "elite" prospects. So what problem is this solving exactly when non-elite prospects are still going to be potentially receiving money under the table?
- Agents can pay for meal and travel expenses. Again, potential for abuse of the system exists. Plenty of ways to funnel money to players now that this channel has been opened. Does anyone really expect the NCAA to monitor every meal received by every player?

USA Basketball decides which players are elite basketball prospects, according to the linked NCAA article.

[UrinalCake]

USA Basketball decides which players are elite basketball prospects, according to the linked NCAA article.

Well yeah, but what criteria do they use? Would someone like Zhaire Smith have been an "elite" prospect? He was ranked 200+ in the RSCI, yet wound up going in the lottery. Under this system he would not have been allowed to have an agent.

[sagegrouse]

Well yeah, but what criteria do they use? Would someone like Zhaire Smith have been an "elite" prospect? He was ranked 200+ in the RSCI, yet wound up going in the lottery. Under this system he would not have been allowed to have an agent.

One step at a time, U.C., one step at a time. "The perfect is the enemy of the good."