NCAA could further narrow NBA draft decision window

Underclassmen thinking about entering the NBA draft could have even less time to make a decision under a proposal approved this week by the NCAA Legislative Council.

The proposal, if OK'd by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors when it meets April 28, would take effect for the 2012 draft.

The move, included near the end of a three-page news release that covered actions taken by the Legislative Council during two days of meetings in Indianapolis, states that the Council:

Adopted Proposal No. 2010-24, which would require student-athletes interested in "testing the waters" of the NBA draft to remove their name from consideration before the first day of the Spring National Letter of Intent signing period. Current rules allow student-athletes to keep their name in the draft until May 8. The change ... is intended to keep student-athletes focused on academics in the spring term and to give coaches a better idea of their roster for the coming year before the recruiting period is closed.

This year's spring signing period began Wednesday and closes May 18. The deadline for players to declare for this year's draft is April 24. Players can withdraw by May 8 and keep college eligibility, provided they do not retain agents.

Until 2010, the deadline to withdraw was 10 days before the draft, which typically is in the final week of June.

The rationale for the proposal, which was submitted by the Atlantic Coast Conference:

Before the adoption of the current rule, student-athletes had approximately 50 days to decide whether to remain in the draft and tryouts with NBA teams could occur only in the last 20 days.

During that period, ... head coaches were often in limbo regarding the status of their rosters for the upcoming season. Further, student-athletes typically spent a large part of that time away from campus training for predraft workouts, which resulted in academic concerns.

The current legislation reduced the problem by setting the withdrawal deadline May 8, which is 40 days earlier than the previous withdrawal deadline but still 22 days after the first day of the National Letter of Intent late signing period for men's basketball.

This year, NBA teams did not spend money to have workouts with student-athletes until the withdrawal deadline passed. By moving the withdrawal deadline, coaches will have flexibility to address roster issues at the beginning of the spring signing period while viable prospects are still available.

Evaluations by professional scouts and others during preseason practices, regular-season games and postseason games should provide student-athletes with adequate information to credibly determine NBA draft status.

Should the even earlier April deadline take effect, players whose teams make deep runs in the NCAA tournament, up to and including the Final Four, could have as little as a week to make a final decision.

The news struck varying chords in the coaching community.

'It's a positive for the NBA, the student-athlete and college basketball," said Memphis coach Josh Pastner.

He said moving up the deadline would not be a dramatic shift. He pointed out that NCAA rules prohibit players from working out for NBA teams until classes end; most spring terms end in May, leaving little time for the workouts under the May 8 deadline. "You're not really getting feedback with one or two workouts," he said.

University of Portland coach Eric Reveno took a different view, saying via Twitter, "The NCAA should not have a draft deadline. Let players return after draft if they want. Good for players and coaches will manage."