headtopics
San Diego State basketball awaits NCAA decision on eligibility of European pros The second session of summer school at San Diego State begins Tuesday.
SDSU coach Brian Dutcher talks with his team against New Mexico in the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament on March 13 in Las Vegas.
The second session of summer school at San Diego State begins Tuesday, which is when the mens basketball team typically gathers and begins workouts ahead of the new season.
There will be players in the JAM Center practice facility.
They just might not be playing much five-on-five.Seven healthy scholarship players are here.
Two others, Elzie Harrington and Nick Anderson, are rehabbing spring surgeries.
And all three European pros remain in NCAA limbo, along with hundreds of others across the country.
Worst-case scenario: Some or all of them dont get here at all.You know me, Ive dealt with it all, Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher said.
I cant change any of it.
Maybe theyre going to try to regulate it a little more, but I dont have any control over it.
Dutcher is referring to the NCAA guidance that hit inboxes on May 8 and still hasnt been fully explained or resolved.The memo seemed to take a harder line on the recent influx of European pros, indicating the NCAA wont clear those who entered an agreement with, competed on or received compensation from a team that participates in a league with minimum compensation that exceeds actual and necessary expenses.
Italian post Luca Vincini wasnt formally announced until May 12, but he had privately agreed to terms with SDSU two weeks earlier and didnt go public until his season ended.You add pieces, and then they hit you with legislation, its kind of tough, Dutcher said.
Maybe theyre setting themselves up for a lawsuit anyway, because there are guys who were going to be playing and already on rosters.
I cant believe theyre going to get rid of those guys like at Illinois or Arizona.
I cant believe theyre going to say they cant play this year, this late.It seems like they needed to take a stand earlier.
Or do it for next year.
The question becomes how narrowly the NCAA defines actual and necessary expenses, which technically has always been there but wasnt strictly enforced.The NCAA also identified several international leagues in which participation by a prospect is likely to result in violations of NCAA rules and a loss of eligibility, an, without specifying them.
The Association is modernizing the rule book in several ways to ensure college sports are played by college athletes and not used as a fallback for professional athletes.
The EuroLeague, the international competition with the continents biggest clubs, has a minimum salary of $50,000 and most players make significantly more, sometimes well into seven figures.
The same goes for Liga ACB, the Spanish first division widely considered the best domestic league outside the NBA, as well as top leagues in France and Italy.
Age could be a factor as well.Sports Illustrated reported that eligibility will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and consider how long a player received a salary worth more than actual and necessary expenses.
Skoric played in Croatia, which generally is not among the highest-paying leagues in Europe.
But hes 23 and turns 24 during the college basketball season.
Torresani turned 21 last month, but he played in Italys respected Lega Basket Serie A for four years.Vincini turns 23 next month and played in Serie A, although only for the past two years.
When he expanded his recruiting net to include overseas pros this spring, Dutcher admitted that he might not have them on the floor by early July and may have to wait until the fall semester begins in late August.
Besides NCAA eligibility approval, the process involves visas, international travel logistics and more complicated academic clearance.
Does the NCAA ultimately clear everybody this year? Does it clear younger players but balk at older ones?Does it draw a line with the EuroLeague and ACB? Does it all end up in the courts anyway? The NCAA may know the chaos and legal recourse that would ensue.
But simply slow-playing eligibility reviews may serve a similar purpose.Its going to be an interesting dynamic, because youve got these guys already over here that they didnt have the rule on, Dutcher said.
To flip it kind of late, youve already got guys committed.
Its kind of late for that guidance.Eventually I think the guidance will go through, because they dont want you signing pros.
But at some level, thats all anyone is taking.
Maybe theyre going to ask more questions and be a little more stringent, I dont know.
Well see.