They differ on what it would look like and how effective it would be, but the Big Ten men’s basketball coaches agreed Monday that if the conference were to make freshmen ineligible, it would have to extend to the NCAA as a whole.
The Diamondback, a student newspaper at the University of Maryland, reported Thursday that the Big Ten is discussing a document called “A Year of Readiness”, which explores keeping all freshman football and men’s basketball players on the sideline for their first year of school. Though the conference has provided information to its members, no official proposal has been made. Freshmen were previously ineligible across all varsity sports until 1972.
The topic was discussed throughout Monday’s weekly coaches teleconference, with the conclusion that a policy specific to the Big Ten would not be beneficial.
“I don’t think that makes a lot of sense in the world that we live in with recruiting and as far as trying to put the best product of talent and teamwork together on the court,” Indiana’s Tom Crean said. “The rules have been set up over the last few years to get your freshmen in. I think there’s a real carrot in front of them to do well academically in the summer.”
CBS Sports reported earlier this month that the Pac-12, Big 12 and ACC were also engaging in some conversation regarding freshman ineligibility.
Crean said he believes current NCAA policies encourage student-athletes to improve their grades, and emphasized that a year off would not mean much if academic accountability isn’t stressed for a player’s entire tenure. Many of his colleagues expressed a similar wariness about the recruiting implications.
“Freshman ineligibility means something that at this point I don’t think the schools would be ready for, and that’s more scholarships,” Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan said. “There are people coming out of high school that are more than ready to play in college and get their degree and maintain their academics and all that. You need freshmen with only 13 scholarships. I’d think you’d need more players if you had players sitting out.”
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Three of the Big Ten’s top 10 scorers are freshmen, and Ohio State guard D’Angelo Russell, who ranks second in the conference with 19 points per game, is projected to be a top-five pick in this year’s NBA draft.
If the NCAA does apply freshman ineligibility to Division I athletics, basketball recruits could look to spend a season at a smaller program before jumping to the pros. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo said that if the NBA doesn’t change its rule allowing student-athletes to declare for the draft after their freshman season, players will still be “one and done.”
“What I love about football and don’t like about basketball is the NBA and college relationship. To me, the NFL’s relationship with college is better,” Izzo said. “So many people complain about how they’re taking our players. The NBA doesn’t like having this situation either. I think somehow the best bet is to figure out a way to get the NBA and college together and figure out what’s best for the student-athlete and what’s best for the basketball player.”
A few coaches, however, said freshman ineligibility is a topic worth exploration.
“There’s a lot of positives to what everyone is talking about,” said Northwestern’s Chris Collins, who starts two freshmen in guard Bryant McIntosh and forward Vic Law. “But it’s something that really needs to be delved into. It’s kind of what’s accepted in football with redshirting. But in basketball, there are so many freshmen that come in and can athletically be ready to play at this level and be very successful.”
Added Purdue’s Matt Painter: “Having that year where you transition to academics and practice will help academically and help socially. There are a lot of positives to that. Everyone around our sport talks about improving our culture, but what actually does improve our culture? This is something that needs to be discussed.”
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