Earlier this month, the National Association of Basketball Coaches Board of Directors held their annual off-season meeting and, with only one dissenting vote, decided to suggest to the NCAA a change in the transfer rules.
The change would essentially do away with the present exemptions being given for two (2) of the most controversial waivers:
A. Allowing players to transfer due to within 100 miles of an ill relative.
B. Allowing players to graduate early, then seek a Master’s Degree not offered at their present institution.
Personally, I could not agree more with both reasoning’s. Much too often the present rules have been abused.
Syracuse Head Coach, Jim Boeheim gave the best evaluation of the present rules, saying: “We’ve just got into an area of unintended consequences.”
In March I wrote an article here entitled “How the NCAA’s Ineptitude Affected ACC This Year.” In it, I discussed three cases that I believed were unfair examples of how transfers have or haven’t been give the same treatment.
The problem has been that the NCAA has allowed a gluttony of transfer exemptions for both the above reasons, and it has become more than a bit of a farce. Questions have arisen about how involved the kids actually are with that sick relative, and if the kids are seriously pursuing an academic endeavor, or just wanting to play for another coach.
As I said, I don’t have a problem with making ALL kids sit a year, but one type of student transfer is NEVER discussed. The kid whose coach leaves for another job, is fired, or retires unexpectedly. In these cases, I believe a waiver is, without a doubt, in order.
We all know that in many, many cases, the college coach becomes a defacto father figure for the student athlete. Kids choose programs, many times, because they and the coach understand each other, certain promises are made or inferred, or the parents feel comfortable with their son being in the hands of a particular coach while he is far away from family.
I am firmly against the “one-and-done” and rail against Coach John Calipari of Kentucky for turning the school into a revolving door for the NBA. Could you imagine if he were to suddenly leave the school abruptly (for whatever hypothetical reason you wish)? Would all of those recruits be happy with whomever replaced him to fulfill the promises he made? I think not. Those kids ought to be allowed to go elsewhere without penalty.
Now, I’d never allow a kid to transfer to the same school the coach went who left a particular program went to, in the event of his simply going elsewhere as Calipari did before. I would never allow more than one kid to transfer to the same school as the coach. That could open up a whole different can of worms.
We all know that the “Coaching Carousel” rears it’s head each year as soon as the Field of 64 is seeded. Coaches move around faster than a street “shell game” with firings and hiring’s happening sometimes faster than 24 hour ESPN can cover. The problem is that while everyone focuses on the new coach, no one focuses on the squad he leaves behind. The kids he recruited, who came to the school because of HIM. They are left to whomever the school hires, and with no options left if the kid dislikes the new coach, or he has a different vision for him. They are stuck, and I believe it is unethical, unprincipled, and unprofessional.
The problem is, I believe, that the only voice given any credence by the NCAA is the NABC. Interestingly enough, their Board of Directors reads like a Who’s Who in college basketball, and is missing only the voice of Coach K and Roy Williams for an All-Star roster.
Whatever could they be thinking of by ignoring these ignored kids? Could it be that they are thinking only of fellow coaches in the transition of a coaching change?
While there are no carpetbaggers on that Who’s Who list, I find it rather myopic of them to ignore the plight of these kids. When a Coach leaves, it’s always a lose-lose situation – The school loses a Coach and the players lose the guy who recruited them, and they came to be led by and play for !!!
Coach Boeheim worried that the changing the transfer rules to require all to sit out for one year might be viewed as “anti-player.” Well, following my idea would be one great step toward guaranteeing that the student athlete comes first when a Coach leaves.
How about it Gents … How could there possibly be a downside ???
Bermuda Bob is a contributing writer for Duke Sports Blog and an avid Duke Basketball fan. You can follow him on Twitter @TheBermudaBob.
