Big-time concerns for Big Time

Spencer Patterson

Friday, July 19, 2002 | 10:26 a.m.

When the 2002 adidas Big Time Tournament tips off Monday, local basketball fans shouldn't expect to rub shoulders with Duke's Mike Krzyzewski or Kansas' Roy Williams, a common occurrence in the event's first seven years.

The nation's top Division I coaches still are expected for the 344-team, 13-site, 26-gymnasium high school basketball extravaganza.

But throughout the Big Time's five days and 856 games, college coaches will be kept away from the masses, confined to one side of each gymnasium while the public -- and the players -- are on the other.

The move comes in response to new NCAA summer basketball recruiting regulations that took effect in April. The NCAA hopes the new guidelines will help regulate summer AAU programs and reduce AAU coaches' influence over their players' college decisions.

"After years of discussion, the NCAA membership said it wanted the summer evaluation period to move in a different direction," said Jane Jankowski, NCAA assistant director for public relations. "(The rules) are designed to decrease the impact of non-scholastic influences in the recruiting of prospective student-athletes."

The changes already have come under attack. College coaches say the new rules will hurt their ability to recruit effectively. High school players say the chances of "getting seen" will decrease. And summer tournament directors and shoe company officials claim the rules can't be effectively enforced, even with an infusion of money and manpower.

So as site directors around Southern Nevada begin hanging Big Time banners on their gymnasium walls, a cloud hangs over the event.

At tournament's end, the NCAA will review the Big Time's performance in enforcing the new guidelines. A failing grade would mean the loss of NCAA certification, and with it the presence of college coaches.

That would likely mean the end of the Big Time altogether.

"If it's a strict evaluation, my opinion is none of the summer tournaments can possibly comply," Big Time director Larry McKay said. "If it's reasonable, I think it's doable. But the bottom line is, the NCAA has the authority to certify us or not."

No contact

The most significant of the new regulations prevents college coaches from making contact with anyone affiliated with the nation's countless AAU teams during this July period. Already prohibited from talking with players, college coaches no longer can talk to their coaches either.

"We're trying to cement that this July period is really an evaluation period and a time for observation, not a time for contact to be made," Jankowski said.

Durango High School coach Al LaRocque, longtime coach of the summertime Las Vegas Stars, said the rule might cause many of his players to lose out on scholarship opportunities.

"This is a time when we pump up our players to college coaches," LaRocque said. "Whether you like it or not, this is a market. I'm in the gym working our players. You talk about the kids' grades, their abilities, their families, anything to get your players in the know. So the kids are the ones getting hurt."

College coaches, including UNLV's Charlie Spoonhour, are concerned that the no-contact rule will limit information about potential recruits.

"It makes it difficult," Spoonhour said. "If you saw a player, you could say, 'Who is this guy and how are his grades?' to his coach. Now you can't do that. I understand the rule, but sometimes things have to be tweaked."

The no-contact regulation also creates awkward situations, as longtime friends and acquaintances are forced to avoid each another for fear of violating the rule.

"You can exchange greetings, but that's it," Spoonhour said.

Sonny Vaccaro, director of basketball for adidas, described one bizarre incident which took place at last week's ABCD Camp in New Jersey.

According to Vaccaro, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker took a few minutes to speak to his old high school coach, Red Jenkins. Because Jenkins coaches an AAU summer squad, Amaker was approached by an NCAA representative and told to leave the event.

"How do you differentiate between a parent and a coach standing next to a kid in a crowded gym?" Vaccaro asked. "They're putting the onus on Larry (McKay) and the camp directors. The onus should be on the college coaches."

The 100-mile rule

Though the no-contact rule has drawn the most outrage from college coaches, the most difficult new regulation to enforce might be the NCAA's new summer basketball residency policy, known as the "100-mile rule."

According to the guideline, high school students can only play for summer teams based in their home state or within 100 miles of their residence.

Intended to reduce all-star squads that have popped up over the years -- with players from one coast playing for teams on the other -- the rule already has been challenged by several players.

"For one thing, they've made sure no kids from Alaska or Hawaii can play in the summer, since they don't have teams close to where they live," Vaccaro said. "The Big Time is supposed to be a chance for every kid in America to get a college scholarship. No one is going to go to North Dakota to see a kid who might be good enough to play for Santa Clara."

In response to several court challenges, the NCAA has issued waivers to players who prove the new residency rule creates a significant hardship.

The residency regulation presents a considerable challenge for McKay. As the Clark County School District's athletic director, he spends much of the year dealing with complicated residency issues, and he thinks doing the same for more than 4,000 basketball players from across the country will be impossible.

"I give the obvious scenario I have all the time here in Las Vegas: a split family with one parent in Wyoming and one in California," McKay said. "Where is the student's residence? Is it where he goes to school? What if (the parents) have equal custody?

"What if a kid went to school in Massachusetts last year, but his parents have since moved to Minnesota? If a team is from Connecticut, and has a kid from Massachusetts on its roster, I don't know the geography to know whether it's within 100 miles.

"It's hard enough to police these kinds of things in Las Vegas. I can't be a cop."

A basketball education

Another new NCAA regulation requires summer tournaments to host educational events for players.

Durango High assistant coach Mike Brewster was commissioned to prepare a videotape explaining the NCAA's recruiting guidelines, from rules regarding campus visits to details about grades and college aptitude tests.

All 344 Big Time teams must view the tape if they want to participate next week.

The NCAA also has passed rules requiring summer teams to present financial disclosure forms, as well as income/expense sheets. And AAU coaches must present official certification cards in order to sit on their team's bench.

For McKay and his staff, it adds up to one giant hassle that will have a severe financial impact on the event.

"It raises our expenses about 20 percent," McKay said. "It certainly compounds my workload, and it has certainly impacted our staffing. Check-in used to be (handled by) three people. Now we'll need 15 for that."

And in the end, regardless of how diligently McKay tries to regulate the nation's largest summer tournament, the NCAA might decide not to certify it next year.

"Basically, what they've done is pass unenforceable rules," McKay said. "I think they should just let them play. But to say this event is going to happen again ... who knows?"

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