NCAA: College recruiting has gotten out of hand
What has happened to our beloved College Athletics? Perhaps we’ve been numb or oblivious to the change, but it is with sadness to say those ‘good ‘ole days’ are gone!
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What do I mean exactly? Well, as I’m sure our readers and Wildcat fans are all aware by now, former Arizona Basketball commit, Terrance Ferguson is foregoing his presumptive one year of college, to go instead play basketball professionally in Australia, before likely entering the 2017 NBA Draft.
In his one year overseas, Ferguson will definitely earn a rather large lump sum of cash. Something very many aspiring basketball players wish for, yet rarely obtain, especially for a teenager.
Now before you sit there and indiscriminately berate this article, because I know what you’re thinking, “Oh great, another Ferguson article” (cue over-exaggerated eye roll). Alas, it is not. However, we are using his recent events (our “misfortune”) as an example.
What is happening to college athletics? It is simple, it’s becoming, or at least has transitioned into being big business. The NCAA certainly makes their fair share of money at the expense of its student-athletes. However, we must address one of the biggest elephants in the room and one of the major growing problems in college athletics…recruiting.
When did the dog and pony show suddenly come to town? I understand, for some of these kids, it is their “15 minutes of fame.” I get it, I do. However, some of these commitments are getting out of hand.
Like this…
These are 17 to 18-year-old kids almost making a mockery of the entire process. Whatever happened to just making your announcement, sticking to that commitment? That should be the gist of it, talk with your coaches, teachers, friends, family, make a decision and stick to your word. Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate did just that, and there was a ton of speculation that he was not going to keep his word. We need more of this type of commitment in the NCAA.
Guess I missed the memo for hosting shows, using expensive sports cars, and skydiving out of an airplane was deemed normal in making your college selection. Coach Rich Rod agrees with me, and he told the media at the Pac-12 media days that he just wants to eliminate signing day.
Today, there are numerous handlers and advisers for these kids acting as “agents” more or less. Some of these kids seldom seem to make their own choices and are influenced by those around them.
Shoes, equipment, etc. are seemingly more important than the school being a good fit, and is going to better them as an athlete, and more importantly as a human being. Queue the speculation on T.J. Leaf‘s change of heart from Arizona to UCLA because of his AAU club team’s sponsor, Adidas.
Exposure is the name of the game, and for a kid like Ferguson, why did he feel he needed to transfer to some bogus “Prep Academy” for the sake of exposure of his game and jeopardize his academics in the process? He’s not the only one who has gone down that path. We wait to hear if other players from his high school will suffer this fate.
Money reigns supreme, and for a teenager, a chance to make money a year before you’re projected too, why not? I do, however, think the system needs to be fixed, and quickly.
One-and-done basketball hurts the sport more than it helps, and in all honesty I think the NCAA should probably adopt a college baseball model, where if you get drafted out of high school, you can elect to go pro, or forego your draft position and enroll in school and stay a certain number of years before being eligible for the draft again like Billy Preston who has Arizona’s offer in his top four.
I would like to see less of these basketball prep academies. Too often we see kids who have a difficult time getting cleared academically by the NCAA, because the courses they’re taking can’t be verified, or the school content is lacking.
Additionally, college football would likely benefit from having an early signing period, where kids aren’t poached from schools because a better offer comes along shortly after.
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College recruiting has certainly gotten out of hand. Let us know what provisions and changes you think the NCAA should make!