| | By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Kei Madison made up his mind long before the Indiana University president and board of trustees rendered their decision on Bob Knight. No matter what happened with Knight, Madison wasn't going to sign in November with Indiana, even though the Iowa Western forward committed to the Hoosiers.
Madison knew that it wasn't worth committing himself to a program that might not look the same in the spring.
"You never know what might happen," said the 6-foot-9, 225-pound preseason junior college all-American. "Coaching changes occur and that's why it's always better to sign in the spring, unless you don't want to be bothered by the recruiting."
|
“ |
Indiana has a nice program, but if
(Mike Davis) goes somewhere equal or higher
then I'll go with him. But if he goes real low then he won't expect me to follow
him. ” |
|
|
— Kei Madison,
Indiana recruit |
Madison is in a precarious position. Indiana signed him out of high school and placed him at Iowa Western. He's tight with interim coach Mike Davis, so much that he is committed to going wherever Davis goes -- as long as it's the right move for him.
"Indiana has a nice program, but if he goes somewhere equal or higher then I'll go with him," Madison said. "But if he goes real low then he won't expect me to follow him."
Madison is expecting to hear from Mississippi, Florida State and Oklahoma -- the three schools that recruited him before Indiana won a commitment over the summer.
"It obviously makes for an interesting situation," Iowa Western coach Jim Morris said. "The only way he'll go to Indiana now is if Mike were the coach the following year."
It's that type of comment that puts Davis in a tough spot. He has to keep recruiting Madison for Indiana, but he also knows that he could take Madison with him in the spring if he doesn't get the IU job and lands a high-profile assistant's job. He should know his 2001-02 destination before the end of the spring signing period in mid-May.
The Knight firing opens up the discussion for players, especially junior college players, about why they should sign in the spring. JC players don't have room to make an error with only two seasons of eligibility remaining. It makes less sense for them to sign early when they could get into the wrong situation with no way out.
"Kei has all the leverage in the world, more than someone in the early-signing period," Morris said.
Madison isn't Indiana's only commitment, but he is the Hoosiers' most important with the potential that freshman Jared Jeffries could bolt after this season to the NBA.
The Hoosiers also got a commitment from Sean Kline of Huntington, Ind. Kline chose Indiana over Notre Dame. Kline has been quoted as saying he may not sign in November, either. But Donald Perry, a guard from Louisiana, said that he's still keeping Indiana high on his list because of Davis.
"We're going to see what happens with Mike," Morris said. "We just want to see if he gets the job."
And that's why Indiana may not sign anyone in November. It doesn't mean the Knight firing has ruined recruiting, but rather put it off until the spring.
SBC pushing for recruiting 'revolution'
The Student Basketball Congress wants a clear division between evaluation and contact for summer recruiting, including roping off college coaches in the bleachers.
Duke senior Shane Battier returned from last weekend's first SBC meeting in Dallas, glowing over the input from nearly 40 players at colleges ranging from Kentucky to Morehouse College.
"We first went there to identify other leaders because I think people were tired of hearing me speak," Battier said. "We got a lot of good opinions. Everyone talked at least once."
The hottest topic was summer recruiting. The SBC is recommending to the Basketball Issues Committee and, in turn the NCAA, to create specific weeks in July for evaluation and for contact.
"The way the system is now, they are too synonymous," Battier said. "Bumps (or contact) between coaches and players goes on too much in the summer. There needs to be some form of pure evaluation."
The SBC is suggesting that coaches be roped off in the bleachers so as not to make contact with the players. The SBC wants to see the drinking fountains and exits off limits, as well.
The SBC wants one week in July for pure evaluation, then the second week can allow for incidental contact with a third week for pure evaluation. The NCAA is allowing only two seven-day periods of evaluation (split by a 10-day dead period) in July 2001.
"It's a revolutionary idea," Battier said.
The SBC was split on the issue of contact in September before the high school season. Players at lower-profile schools endorsed two calls per week, while higher-profile players were for one call a week.
The NCAA presented its proposals on deregulating amateurism, which included allowing students to accept prize money and still return to college. But Battier said that applies more to tennis and golf than basketball players. The SBC is in favor of allowing educational expenses to be paid without it hurting a players' amateur status.
Meanwhile, the SBC endorsed an NCAA proposal that would allow players to get paid for running a clinic of no more than two or three kids. But the SBC wants it amended to include up to 30 people without it being classified as a camp. Their argument is that basketball can be taught to larger groups than tennis and golf.
The NCAA's $6 billion contract with CBS was also discussed. Players want a piece of the pie -- but not in dollars. Battier said Purdue's Carson Cunningham suggested that schools should pay for one trip home at Christmas over the break, or allow a players' family to fly in for NCAA or conference tournament games.
"The perception is that we're greedy but that's not the case," Battier said. "We want to improve the quality of our life, and there are other ways to do it than money. We should be heard and looked at and not just dismissed as a bunch of uneducated people talking."
Exempted games better watch out
The Collegiate Commissioners are serious about trying to get rid of exempted events. A source within the CCA said the group will discuss setting a limit of 29 games for all Division I schools at their meeting Sept. 18-20 in Indianapolis.
If changed, the rule would mean a team could play in Maui, or the Preseason NIT, but the games would count toward a total of 29. The plan is to approve the number of games and then send it to the meeting of the management council in October. If it were endorsed at that meeting, it would go to the floor of the NCAA convention in January for discussion.
The NCAA board of directors would then likely vote on the matter next April and it could become law for the 2002 season. But it won't occur without a possible lawsuit. The exempted tournaments have met with legal council on the matter and the NIT has made it clear that if the NCAA takes away its cash cow of the Preseason NIT, then the 32-team postseason NIT will be gone as well.
The NCAA can't afford to have only one postseason tournament for 318 Division I schools.
Selection committee changes
The NCAA basketball selection committee named Lee Fowler as the 2001-02 chair to replace Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, who will be chair 2000-01. But that doesn't solve all issues for this season.
The NCAA is searching for two spots. The NCAA said they have to replace Iowa State's Gene Smith with a minority to ensure there is minority representation on the committee. Smith took the athletic director's job at Arizona State, but there is already a committee member from the Pac-10 (Arizona AD Jim Livengood).
Fowler was named athletic director at N.C. State after serving the same job at Middle Tennessee State. He will take Smith's I-A spot. There has to be a 6-4 split between I-A and 1-AA/AAA reps, which means a I-AA or I-AAA spot remains open, as well as one I-A spot.
The issue is expected to come up at the basketball committee's October meeting. But something has to be done before the season starts. Being a committee member is too important to come in too late during the season. A committee member has to know that he or she needs to pay attention to the season from the opening day.
Weekly Chatter
All the rumors of Bob Knight landing in the Big Ten in a year or so are just that -- rumors. But remember one thing: if Knight gets a Big Ten job, or one in the state of Indiana or Kentucky within eight years after leaving Indiana, he would lose over a million in deferred compensation. The consensus still remains that Knight will land at a lower profile Division I school for the 2001-02 season.
The NCAA was busy earlier this week, pushing for a moratorium on bowl games for two years in football and also reviewing Division I-A membership. The Sun Belt is trying to go Division I-A, and sources within the membership council said a proposal is being developed where a conference would need six football members and a certain percentage of the conference's members competing in all sports to be considered Division I-A. The significance of this is it gives the Sun Belt a seat on the Board of Directors of the NCAA. The Big West is likely to lose its seat and the Sun Belt wants to take its place. The hierarchy in the NCAA doesn't want any more company.
Veteran assistant Ray Jones wasn't retained at Cornell under new coach Steve Donahue, but would be a find for a coach still searching for basketball mind.
UNLV and Old Dominion are trying to close out a home-and-home series, with the Runnin' Rebels going to ODU this season to start the series. Meanwhile, UNLV's infractions committee meeting is next week in Dallas with the focus is on booster David Chapman giving money to former signee Lamar Odom.
The America East presidents will meet Sept. 26 in Boston to decide on expansion with the Colonial Athletic Association. America East presidents don't have scheduled meetings and haven't met since 1994 when they added Towson and Hofstra. The America East needs eight of 10 votes to add schools. It's looking at the CAA's George Mason, James Madison, Virginia Commonwealth, William & Mary, UNC Wilmington and Old Dominion. Vermont is against the proposal. Maine is likely leaning the same way. Northeastern, Boston University and New Hamsphire are the swing votes. The coaches are against the measure because they fear that having 15 or 16 teams will make it harder to get the likely one NCAA Tournament berth.
Utah coach Rick Majerus had a rough few weeks. His mother broke her leg, he underwent knee surgery Thursday and he spent last week by the bed of his mentor and former coach Al McGuire. The former Marquette coach and national broadcaster is battling leukemia in a Milwaukee hospice. If there is any good news for Majerus it's with his team. Duke transfer Chris Burgess' ailing back is getting better and Mormon Church missionary returnee Britton Johnsen isn't complaining anymore about patella tendonitis.
Oregon State nearly got a scare when junior college transfer and potential starting power forward Philip Ricci complained about a sore knee all summer. But Oregon State doctors looked at the knee last week and said he's simply suffering from tendonitis. The good news is he doesn't need surgery. Ricci should start next to 6-10 Brian Jackson and Jason Heidi. Heidi and Ricci will give the Beavers beef inside, with Jackson a Keith Van Horn-like, but taller, small forward. The Beavers will have defensive problems but will be tough to match offensively. Look for Deaundra Tanner at the point and Josh Steinthal at shooting guard. The Beavers don't start school for another two weeks.
Missouri signee and McDonald's all-American Travon Bryant didn't make it academically and will go to Maine Central Institute for at least the first semester. MCI had an open scholarship late in August and gave it to Bryant with the chance that he will be in uniform for the full season. If Bryant gets a qualifying test score in the fall he could end up with the Tigers by mid-December. He might not play for MCI, but will practice in the fall. Bryant was expected to give the Tigers some needed power inside the lane.
Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said McDonald's all-American Gerald Wallace has been cleared to practice. Wallace was in a boot for an injured foot. Meanwhile, center Jeremy Hays and sophomore forward Kenny Walker still haven't been allowed to play in individual instruction or pickup games. Hays tore his anterior cruciate ligament last year. Gottfried said that has healed but he developed a stress fracture on his right shin (the opposite leg). Walker just had a 16-inch rod removed from his shin bone.
When healthy, the Tide is one of the sleeper teams in the nation with a lineup of senior point Tarik London (3.7 apg), sophomore guard Terrance Meade (11.5 ppg), sophomore guard Rod Grizzard (13.2 ppg), sophomore forward Erwin Dudley (8.1 rpg) and, in the post, Hays (11.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg, in '98-99). Oh, and off the bench, Wallace.
The Tide have a rather light non-conference schedule with Louisville at home (very winnable), a Puerto Rico tournament at Christmas that they should go no less than 2-1 with Cincinnati, Washington and Clemson as the other "name" teams. A game against Ohio State, at home, isn't until February. Alabama could pull off what LSU did last year and go with a 12-0 in games before the SEC.
Texas took a hit when point guard Darren Kelly was ruled ineligible for the first semester. That puts even more pressure on shooting guard Maurice Evans to play some point, or at least run the team. Look for more minutes early out of freshmen Royal Ivey and Fredie Williams, along with sophomore Roosevelt Brown.
Connecticut freshman Robert Swain didn't make it academically and will try to get in school in December.
SMU center Nigel Smith could be released by Oct. 1 to practice after having major offseason nasal surgery. But guards Lavardicus Atkins (knee surgery), Damon Hancock (fractured finger), Renaldo Bratton (broken toe from a dropped dresser) are all on the injured list. The Mustangs are the likely pick to finish first in the WAC.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball runs Thursdays/Fridays throughout the offseason. It will return Sept. 28 or 29. | |
ALSO SEE
The Word's Answer Man
Have a question for the Weekly Word?
Missed the Word?
|
