SoCalHoops Recruiting News

A Prediction: NCAA D-I Fall Recruiting
Alive & Well In SoCal--(Sept. 3, 2001)

Many people have said that NCAA D-I recruiting is dead as a result of the new NCAA Bylaw restricting Division I men's coaches only from attending events unless they meet the criteria of the new bylaw which was enacted effective August 1. 2001 by the NCAA.   That Bylaw, 13.1.7.1 reads as follows:

The purpose of the rule has been debated endlessly, and whether high school coaches or club coaches are better equipped to deal with recruiting is largely beside the point now.  If D-I coaches can't see players except in the environment of their own high school season, players and coaches may have to alter their strategies for dealing with each other.  Some say videotaping of recruiting events will become more prevalent;  others say that D-II, III, NAIA and Juco coaches can be present anyway (regardless of this rule), so D-I coaches will just have to stand up for themselves and fight this rule if they also want to participate in the recruiting process for more than 2 weeks during the summer. . . And still others say, that until things sort themselves out, the rule (above) just isn't clear at all because of the complex patchwork of state high school associations who may have regulations which either permit or restrict activity during the fall period, whether formal approval is sought or not.... In some case, such formal approval may not even be required because many state bylaws grant advance approval to high school coaches, players and teams to participate and sponsor such activities completely independently.  In other words, what has emerged at this point that is clear, is that nothing is at all clear. . . Which is why we've taken a hard, close look at some of those state rules and what can and can't be done in California, and in particular, SoCal.

What many people didn't realize with the enactment of the new bylaw, is that the NCAA has taken itself out of the business of "certifying" men's recruiting events for this fall.  Prior to the enactment of the rule, in order for D-I coaches to attend an evaluation event (tournament, showcase, camp, etc.) the event operators had to submit an application at least 90 days prior to the event;  the NCAA would review the information provided and if it met the criteria established by the NCAA, the event would be "certified."  

But in mid-July of this year, the NCAA notified all event operators whose events had previously been certified that the NCAA would no longer do so.  That memo made clear that with respect to future events, all such certification was now in the hands of either the high school itself (i.e., via the state governing body), or the national federation of high schools (which is the association which makes up the national rules and "sanctions" multistate competitions between high school teams or events which feature individual from multiple states (e.g., track competitions, etc).  The interesting thing about the timing of the NCAA's July memorandum to event operators was that it was sent long after the 90-day deadline which the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) requires for its own applications for sanctioning events.  Thus the NCAA, by giving such late notice all but insured that the NFHS would not be in a position to sanction any multiple state competitions.  But are they required to do so?  Perhaps not, since each state is free to adopt its own bylaws.

And for many states, they haven't been at all deterred from granting "formal" approval to events that are run by individuals who aren't affiliated with a high school.  For example, the North Carolina State HS Athletic Association has given its approval of an evaluation event run by Bob Gibbons.  The event, because of the approval from the State Association only, is limited to North Carolina student-athletes, but according to Bob Gibbons, that's just fine with him.  We spoke with Bob last week, and he told us, "I have a very good relationship with the folks who run the North Carolina Association, and they approved my event.  I have a letter from them that I have sent to all the D-I coaches, and they have given it to their compliance officers," Gibbons explained.  "Now that the NCAA isn't certifying events, it's up to each D-I school to determine if an event complies with the rule," Gibbons said.  "My event certainly does comply, and I expect that there will be D-I coaches in attendance."

No sooner did the bylaw go into effect before D-I coaches and compliance officers, and event operators began to question what they could and could not do.  In response to questions from D-I coaches, the NCAA's Director of Membership Services/Division I Governance Liaison, Stephen A Mallonee sent an official Memorandum to the College Commissioners Association Compliance Administrator's Group (CCACA) with some very important interpretations of the new Bylaws.  In that memorandum, dated August 27, 2001, the NCAA stated that "NCAA membership services staff has determined that it is permissible during the 2001 fall-contact period for Division I men's basketball coaches to observe activities such as pick-up games and open gyms that are conducted at a high school or two-year college under the supervision of the high school or two-year college coach. It is not permissible for coaches to observe unorganized activities such as pick-up games or open gyms that may occur at a location other than the high school or two-year college facility (e.g. local recreation center, playground) that are not supervised by the appropriate scholastic coach."  The memorandum also noted that " inasmuch new legislation related to the men's basketball recruiting calender is pending second review by the NCAA Division I Management Council at its October meeting, the staff agreed not to record any interpretation at this time."

So what does this mean? 

It apparently means that D-I coaches can attend not only events that are "approved, sanctioned, sponsored or conducted" by the applicable high school association, but also events that are supervised by a high school coach which comply with the memorandum from the NCAA to the CCACA, and which are activities permitted under the particular state high school association's rules.  

What this means, at least in California is that if a high school coach supervises an open gym, fall workout or pickup games at a high school facility, things should be fine, and D-I coaches are permitted to attend pursuant to the NCAA's own memorandum to D-I coaches. 

Of course it also means that high school coaches who run such open gyms and pickup games will have to comply with CIF rules in the process, which may be tricky for the CIF Southern Section's 500+ head basketball coaches.  The "tricky" part comes into play because the Southern Section of the CIF is the only one of the 10 sections which places restrictions on when and where coaches can be in the gyms with their own players.  This rule, called the "association" rule, prohibits CIF-SS coaches only from being in the gym and coaching their players in basketball (or from running supervised open gyms, workouts, and pickup games for their own players) during September and October.

It does not, however, prohibit CIF-SS coaches from arranging workouts or open gyms with City Section coaches supervising their own players, nor does it prohibit the CIF-SS players from playing in an open-gym workout or pickup evaluation event conducted at an LA City Section, San Diego Section or Central Section gym, so long as there is a high school coach supervising the gym activities.

You see, the GOOD NEWS is that every other CIF section (other than the Southern Section) follows a much more liberal approach, and each of those sections permits their coaches to be in the gym supervising their own players year round. And you can be that some of those coaches most assuredly will be running supervised open gyms and pickup games in light of the NCAA's own interpretation of the rule. 

In fact, there are 10 "Sections" of the CIF statewide, and while each of them is permitted to enact rules which are stricter than the State Bylaws, only the CIF-SS has done so in a way that will impact players during this fall. 

And the EVEN BETTER NEWS is that CIF-SS players can participate in whatever events they want, so long as they themselves aren't violating CIF rules affecting their own eligibility.  In other words, there's no rule which prohibits CIF-SS players from participating in events which are supervised at another CIF Sections gym, and if the event is supervised by a high school coach, D-I coaches are permitted to attend.   In fact, Southern Section players have been doing this all along, year in and year out, and this year ought to be no different in that respect.    Well, it will look a bit different in terms of the format of the events, but the events will still happen. 

While several event operators we know have inquired to the CIF-SS about receiving formal "approval"  (in much the same way that Gibbons did in North Carolina), it appears that this may be formality which really isn't necessary, given the NCAA's interpretation of the rule in the memo to the CCACA (above).   Indeed, as one CIF-SS official (who requested anonymity) told us two weeks ago: "We already tacitly 'approve' of our CIF-SS players participating in outside events because CIF-SS rules permit players to participate on club and travel teams so long as they don't do it during the 'season of sport' or otherwise engage in activities which jeopardize their eligibility.   As long as players aren't violating any CIF rules, then they are allowed to participate, and in that sense, it's an 'approved' activity" the official noted.  

Other CIF Sections besides the CIF-SS permit their coaches to take their teams anywhere they want within the state at any time of the year to participate in practices, competitions, and workouts.  State CIF Bylaw Section 502, regarding "Outside Teams" provides that:  "No school belonging to the California Interscholastic Federation shall compete, scrimmage or practice with any team outside the jurisdiction of the Federation without the consent of the California Interscholastic Federation Section involved."  However,  (by way of example only), the Northern Section of the CIF--just to pick a section at random, has enacted a rule which states that their teams have "automatic approval for competition" for outside competition, so long as they also comply with other rules regarding sanctioning of events.   Theoretically, what this means is that high school basketball coaches from other sections can bring their teams to Southern California, and so long as the event is supervised by the high school coach, and conducted at a high school with other players who are eligible to compete, it would be an approved event under the CIF's byzantine bylaws.

So, what will we see this fall in the way of recruiting events?  Right now there are only a few events scheduled that we know about and most of those are tentatively gauging interest, unsure of how to structure their events.   But these are the ones we know about which are planned to take place:

Sept 9, 2001 @ LB  Jordan HS, Long Beach, CA---Fullcourt Press Fall Showcase

Sept 14-16  @ Lynwood HS, Lynwood, CA--  Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Tournament

Sept 15-16  @ Sunnyside HS, Fresno, CA--EBO's 5th Annual "Sweet 16 Basketball Tournament"

Sept  28-30 @ Los Angeles, CA --Double Pump Fall Evaluation/Tournament Event (pending)

Sept 29-30 @ Fullerton College, Fullerton, CA-- Fullerton JUCO Showcase (Approved by the COA-- Division I coaches permitted to attend)

We'll have more on these events in the coming weeks. Right now, we'll be the first to say that we don't know exactly how any of these events will actually be run and conducted at this point, but we're betting that upon closer examination of what is permitted and what isn't under the new NCAA Bylaw and the CIF Bylaws and section rules, that some smart high school coaches and smart event operators will figure out how to conduct these evaluation events so that they'll fill the needs of the D-I college coaches and meet the reasonable expectations of the players who are looking for evaluation opportunities outside their own high school team environment

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