The NCAA has proposed new rules that will change the landscape of college basketball, in which players are eligible to return to school if undrafted, and elite recruits can have agents. Did it address the real issue?
The question of whether or not the NCAA should work to change the one-and-done nature of its game has remained a hot issue for years. High school recruits have slowly but surely become brands, and it hasn’t come as a surprise that college basketball programs have found under-the-table ways to pay top recruits to come to their programs. So, as a way to find a common ground, the NCAA has proposed a new rule in which “elite” recruits can have agents — as approved by the NCAA, according to ESPN. Also, players who weren’t drafted are eligible to immediately return to school.
Kentucky head coach John Calipari, perhaps the face of the current one-and-done wave, is suggesting way keep things in context. Calipari pointed out that the new rules probably won’t take place until 2022.
"Kentucky coach John Calipari, talking about the NCAA rule changes on SportsCenter, said, “None of this goes into effect until the NBA and the players’ association come up with something, and I’m hearing it won’t be until 2022 so we’re probably wasting our breath dealing with the ins and outs of this."
While the new rules proposed are nice, will these rules really address the purple elephant in the room? In the end, NCAA athletes bring in billions of dollars in revenue and teams paying players to commit to their program is their way to “reward” them. Yes, players will now have agents, but we will have to wait and see if this will have any impact in the future. This rule may satisfy a few but many may not be satisfied.