Re: All Things Denver, XXVIII
NCAA proposal would reign in high school recruiting with scholarship restrictions
By Shemar Woods
The Denver Post
Chris Thomas, who attends a prep school in Maryland but is from Denver, said he wants to wait until after his senior year to commit. (Kenneth D. Lyons, The Denver Post)College basketball coaches are lining up to get Chris Thomas interested in their schools.
Last weekend, at the Kentucky Hoopfest in Louisville, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Denver dazzled recruiters. He's already been offered scholarships by Ohio State, Michigan State, Arizona and California heading into his junior season at Maryland's Princeton Day Academy.
The 16-year-old transfer from Montbello High isn't in a hurry to make a decision.
"I tell them I'm going to wait until after my 12th-grade season and that I would love to come to their school," said Thomas, ranked No. 3 on ESPU's Terrific 25 for the Class of 2013. "I don't want to commit early and have a better opportunity come along."
By the time he commits, the entire recruiting process could be different.
An NCAA committee is pitching a proposal to prohibit coaches from offering scholarships to athletes in all sports until July 1 after their junior year, or after at least five semesters or seven quarters of high school academic work. Scheduled for a vote in January, the proposed change would allow coaches more time for evaluation and provide recruits more time to mature before making a decision.
"I don't think it needs to be earlier than that," said Ken Shaw, basketball coach at powerhouse Regis Jesuit. "We are doing too much evaluation of seventh- and eighth-graders throughout the country."
Two years ago, Michael Avery made an oral commitment — as an eighth-grader — to former Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie. Gillispie was fired a year later. Southern California football coach Lane Kiffin raised him one in February by offering David Sills, a 13-year-old seventh-grader, a full ride for the 2015-16 season.
The NCAA would like to stop such practices.
"The ugliest thing about recruiting kids is that they are being told they are the No. 1 recruit early on and the kid will turn off all other offers," said Greg Willis, Thomas' AAU coach. "Then the school will get the kid they really want and back off the other kid. I've seen it happen."
Thomas said he'll remain uncommitted until he's a senior, even if he gets an offer from Tennessee, his current top choice. All oral commitments are non- binding.
Other young prospects are committing earlier and earlier.
Alabama already has 14 oral commitments for the 2011 football season. Colorado State football coach Steve Fairchild has two commitments for next year. Still, Fairchild prefers to wait and see how young athletes pan out before making a scholarship offer.
"We're forcing an issue," Fairchild said. "I've seen too many times where guys get offered a year out and then all of a sudden they don't progress. . . . Sometimes I wonder how many offers some of these schools have out and how sincere it is."
Not all of the issues in today's fierce recruiting world will be resolved if the proposal passes. Athletes likely won't tattle on their coaches for providing a heads-up that an offer is on the way. And coaches certainly won't rat on themselves.
"A college coach could tell a high school coach, 'Hey, when Ricky gets to be a senior, we're going to offer him,' " Colorado football coach Dan Hawkins said. "So what's the difference? I understand the reasons for (the proposal). I think there are some legitimate reasons for it. I hear all that. But how are you going to prevent that?"
The recruiting process would be shortened if the rule is implemented, possibly relieving pressure for athletes and their coaches. According to Rivals.com national recruiting editor Jeremy Crabtree, the proposal is a start toward changing the entire recruiting landscape.
"I think as you go into changing the rules, an early signing period goes hand-and-hand to curtail and control the early recruiting process," Crabtree said. "If you talk to a lot of football coaches, the next logical step is to have an early signing period."
Currently, basketball recruits can sign in November of their senior year; football players can sign in February.
Thomas said his biggest concern is staying on track in school and then making the right decision on a college.
"I wish time would fly faster," he said.
