Want to annoy/anger/outrage college basketball coaches? Threaten to eliminate the July recruiting period. For that matter, it annoys/angers/outrages hoops writers, too.
That very idea was recommended by the Conference Commissioners Association last month, but emerged as news last week. Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe explains why:
“My position, and the majority, is to get out completely,” he said. “We’ll have to be convinced why it should be different than that.”
The reaction from various coaches wasn’t muted. St. Joe’s coach Phil Martelli hated it, as do most of the A-10 coaches. Louisville’s Rick Pitino said it was “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of since I’ve been a coach.”
Both Gary Parrish and Dave Telep wrote columns explaining why scrapping the July period was a bad idea, but the best and most persuasive came from John Infante, the brains behind the Bylaw Blog. His thoughts? Do away with the middlemen, namely AAU coaches, and allow college coaches more access, he wrote Wednesday.
It’s a (fairly) simple solution - doing away with 20 days in the middle of summer can’t compete with what happens the rest of the year - but should carry more weight because his blog is housed on the NCAA’s website.
Hard to ignore a voice from within, eh?
Mike Miller’s also on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller, usually talkin’ hoops. Click here for more.