Wednesday, March 11, 2015

"This may be one of the best things the NABC has ever done."

The NBA, NCAA, and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) have an idea, and it's a pretty good one.  The goal is to keep kids who aren't ready for the NBA in school where they can further hone their skills.  The idea, of course, is self-serving in that the NBA gets more seasoned players and the NCAA retains talent, but the fact that it will ultimately benefit the student athlete can't be ignored.

There are two main components:
The proposal, the result of a series of meetings first held at the 2014 Final Four, would move the withdrawal date for American college players to late May, nearly five weeks later than the current late-April date.
...
If the proposal is accepted, underclassmen would be able to participate in a new invitation-only combine in mid-May that would enable NBA teams to evaluate players and then offer feedback on their draft prospects. The pool would include all draft-eligible players -- seniors, underclassmen and international players. But Dan Gavitt, NCAA vice president of the men's basketball championship, said the finite number wouldn't change if a player withdrew. The goal would be to increase the current NBA draft combine number by 20 to 30 percent (currently 65 to 70 players attend the draft camp in Chicago annually).
Setting aside the fact that this comes a couple years too late for Georgia (*ahem* Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins), this actually makes a lot of sense!

One of the biggest problems these kids face is that they have all the wrong people dispensing advice ("Joe Blow at the barber shop," according to John Thompson III).  Now, not only do you have more time to make a decision, you also get constructive feedback from the very teams that hold your future in their hands.

Didn't get invited to the combine?  You have virtually no chance of being drafted.  Did get invited?  You still may not get drafted, but you'll hear it straight from the horse's mouth.

Is it a perfect system?  No.  There are spring signing implications, for sure.  It's also unrealistic to think you can stop every kid from leaving.  There will be kids who don't get invited to the combine, but who still choose to enter the draft.

I'm also still waiting for the horrible, no good, very bad one-and-done rule to go away, at which point select high school seniors should be invited to the combine as well.

Until then, though, this represents a good start.  It makes a lot of sense and it benefits the athletes - but let's hope it passes anyway.

[ESPN]

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