Money Players

More O.J., agents, runners and baseball draft

Jason Whitlock, the love-him-or-hate sportswriter, offers some interesting points about how the media and the public view college basketball and baseball players.and their interactions with agents. Writes Whitlock:

When the NCAA enacted its new, get-tough Academic Progress Report standards, a little-known fact that the media ignored is that college baseball programs traditionally performed far below basketball programs. Let me translate that for you: Baseball players were less likely to graduate from college than basketball players. The APR forced baseball coaches to bring their kids back to campus for summer school rather than allowing them to audition in front of scouts and agents in the Cape Cod League. Yeah, the "cesspool" of street agents, runners, handlers, scouts and agents we love to rail against in basketball co-mingle in baseball at high school All-American games without raising a word of dissent.

Conquest Chronicles, a USC fan blog, weaves some of my earlier comments on agents and the baseball draft to make his case that college athletics could be improved if we "Make it above board!". Writes Conquest Chronicles:

I am not naive enough to think that this sort of thinking work have stopped the alleged benefits that an O.J. Mayo might have received but instead of being a watch dog why not consider some sort of partnership with the pro leagues and agents with stiff penalties for those that break the rules.

The product would be so much better if the "minimum" requirements helped nurture the players into more responsible solid citizens that can also play at that level. I also agree that rookies should play one year in the "D" league before getting to the big dance. Surely some legitimate compromise can be made..

Money Players reader and frequent commenter Garrett Sanders emails some interesting points:

Guillory allegedly was given $250k to recruit OJ by BDA, but "only"30k ended up in his pocket. Clearly, if OJ took money from Guillory, he was wrong for this...but the larger point is that there is economic system that compensates people who have deep relationships with top players. For college coaches, the market determines what college coaches can are paid. For runners, agents can have them on the payroll (even if the practice is generally frowned upon). And then for the players, the ones who create economic value for both sports agents and athletic departments, are conveniently cut out of the deal. I am not sure I want college athletes to be paid, the  schools and the NCAA are the ones who have turned this into a big money game. So if they take the one and done players, they're telling the public it's about the money, not the education. And if they don't pay them, someone else will step in. Everyone can do their typical hand wringing, but should anyone expect a different outcome.

High school phenom goes straight to the NFL

The NFL requires players to be three years removed from high school before they are eligible to play in the League. NFL owners recognize that 18- to 21-year-old cheerleaders are in their athletic prime, and therefore, have no such prohibition. Deadspin has the least creepy coverage of the story of the high school cheerleader making the New England Patriot cheerleading squad.

Judging from the comments on Deadspin and WithLeather (a few funny, tasteful ones listed below), how is this nubile, young sex object any more prepared to handle the potential dangers that lurk in the NFL (on the Internet and other very real places) than a hulking football player that is, say, two years removed from high school? A NFL owners understand that young sex objects and older, more mature football players are both good for business.

A couple funny (and not all that offensive) comments from Deadspin:

I for one am appalled at high school kids jumping immediately to the professional ranks. They're not fully developed, and really need a year or two in an NCAA program to prepare them for such a life.
/NCAA spokesman

I'm appalled!
/Allison Stokke's dad

How's her mom?
/Belichik

Building a better mouse-release

In an article on the "one and done" phenomena in the The Athens Banner-Herald, Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl is quoted:

"It's not working. Both the NBA and the NCAA coaches, we all want a good system that gives the players an opportunity and the colleges some sanity and let the NBA be able to have the best players that can play. We know that what we have now isn't working for us and we don't think it's working for the players."

Amen, my fellow lonsman. The current system that doesn't work. This issue is not that complicated, folks. Players who want to go to college and play basketball should. And players who don't should have viable options. This whole issue has been often framed in absolute terms by the stakeholders: Players believe they should have the right to earn a living whenever the market signals they are ready. The NBA wants mature, pre-marketed players entering the Association. The NCAA wants real student athletes. Boosters just want to win. And athletic departments have to find the proper balance: Keep well-heeled boosters happy without completely abandoning their academic mission.

It's like Baseketball, but better
The amateur baseball draft is the best system. Players are eligible to be drafted after their senior year of high school. They don't declare for the draft. They are simply drafted. Then if a Major League team offers them enough money, they sign. Otherwise, if they are not offered a sufficient contract they can go to an NCAA school...BUT THE PLAYERS MUST AGREE TO A 3-YEAR ENLISTMENT. Perhaps the NBA should consider this approach.

The marketplace decides who's ready. What a concept! And players don't have to rely on an agent or runner promises and hype. Everybody wins. Why not hold a supplemental NBA draft for high school players? NBA teams select players they think are worth signing. Drafted players either sign according to a rookie scale or they go to college. If a player signs, he goes to the NBDL for at least one season. If he opts to go to an NCAA school, he is not eligible for the NBA draft for three years. And to boot we can rid  "declaring for the draft," "testing the waters" and "agent/outside influence" from our sports vernacular.

Feasting on agents and runners
And finally...along with James Tanner, David Thorpe, and Jason Levien, I participated in TrueHoop's "Runners and Recruiting: A Roundtable." There's so much to chew on, it took two sittings. Second helping is expected on Thursday.

--Marc Isenberg

Josh Pastner has left the McKale Center

It was just announced that my friend Josh Pastner accepted a position to become an assistant coach at Memphis. Good hire for Memphis and great move by Josh. I hate to see Josh leave the Pac-10, but he's been at Arizona for 12, 13 years, first as a student-athlete and then as an assistant coach. I also think it will be good for him to learn under another great coach like Calipari, whom I become of a big fan of.

Not only can Cal coach, but he consistently puts his players' best interest above all else. (My standard disclaimer: I love when guys stay in school 2, 3 even 4 years, but it is unfair to criticize elite players and also unmotivated students when they go pro.)

Here's what Cal told Derrick Rose prior to making himself eligible for the NBA draft:
"If you want to do what's right for you and your family, you should consider leaving. If you want to do what's right for me and my family, you probably should stay."

And I put this in my Money Players book....
Memphis basketball coach John Calipari famously tore up Dejuan Wagner's scholarship immediately after his freshman year to "make sure he understood he wasn't coming back." Wagner was the sixth pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, but lasted only three years due to medical problems. Said Calipari: "Now you might say [Wagner's] out of the league, but he made $15 million."

Blame agents and everyone else

Like most top college basketball freshman, Arizona's Jerryd Bayless has made himself eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft. He has also signed with a sports agent, which means he can't "test the waters" and return to college if he is dissatisfied with where he might go in the draft. Mock drafts currently have Bayless being selected anywhere from the 3rd to 5th pick.

Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson is apparently displeased that Bayless decided to leave, and is also upset that he was not consulted. Olson reportedly told ESPN's Andy Katz (ESPN Insider subscription required): "I don't think it was very intelligent on Jerryd's part, but his parents felt he should do it [and sign with an agent]."

Not intelligent? Wow. To me, it would be hard for anyone to find fault with Jerryd's decision. When these decisions are being contemplated I typically invoke legendary UNC coach Dean Smith, who generally advised players projected to be top 10 picks to come out early primarily because they could secure their financial future.

Olson is especially angry with basketball agent Jeff Schwartz, whom Bayless signed with. Said Olson,  "The agent never was in contact with us and never called anyone in the Arizona office to indicate that they would be signing Jerryd. We'll make sure that agent doesn't represent any of our players in the future as long as I'm here."

Perhaps Olson used his leave of absence to brush up on the Arizona's Uniform Athlete Agent Act (UAAA).

The University of Arizona athletic department's student-athlete handbook makes the law chillingly clear:

"You become immediately ineligible if you agree (orally or in writing) to have a person represent you in future negotiations involving your athletics abilities or worth. Be aware that Arizona State Law requires notification of your institution's athletic director within 72 hours if such an agreement is made with an agent. Civil or criminal action could result from non-compliance. You become ineligible at once if you or your family or friends accept anything (inducements) from an agent or their emissaries."

Olson may have wanted to be involved in the decision process, but Jerryd and his advisers didn't do so. That's their right. If Olson wanted to talk to Jerryd, then he should have reached out earlier. Complaining to Katz about what he thinks transpired is petty. And let's not forget that Olson, who recruited Bayless to play for him, presumably didn't consult with Bayless about his decision to not coach the team this past year.

--Marc Isenberg