The NCAA’s board of directors voted late last night to change the date a college basketball player can withdraw from the NBA draft. This year will not change, and the players have until May 8th to withdraw from the draft if they haven’t hired an agent. Starting next year however, players will have to decide before the first day of the spring signing period (think mid April).
Who will benefit most from this new rule? Well, high school seniors will benefit – they will now know earlier who they will have to compete for playing time with at each of their college choices. College coaches will benefit – they will now know earlier how many scholarships they have available for the spring signing period.
Who will benefit least from this new rule? Oddly enough, the NBA should not be as affected as you would think. NBA scouts will have been watching players all year in game situations and tournaments, and I have trouble believing they don’t pretty much know who they want by the time April rolls around. It is the players going into the draft who will suffer the most from this new rule. They will have almost no time to test the waters of the NBA and see what scouts think of them before declaring irrevocably.
I think fans will be fine with the new rule. Unless they just really like anticipation, “…remember when you didn’t know who was going and who was staying?” Good times.
