COLLEGE BASKETBALL / DAILY REPORT : MEN : Boycott Talk Not Quite Over Without Minority Changes

While emphasizing that “the healing has begun,” USC’s George Raveling said Thursday there still exists the possibility of a future boycott by basketball coaches if changes aren’t made in NCAA minority policies.

Speaking at a National Assn. of Basketball Coaches’ press conference in Charlotte, N.C., Raveling was quick to praise a recent federally mediated agreement between the NCAA and the Black Coaches Assn. In that agreement, the NCAA promised to review, among other things, its initial eligibility standards for student-athletes, its hiring practices for upper hierarchy positions, its position on a fourth year of eligibility for non-qualifiers and its legislation concerning access to players during the off-season.

Still, Raveling, a prominent member of both the BCA and the NABC, said the black coaches’ organization definitely would have boycotted games had an agreement not been reached. Asked to describe the specifics of such a boycott, Raveling said he couldn’t because, “we might have to use it in the future.”

Added Seton Hall Coach P.J. Carlesimo: “If no changes are made, absolutely (there will be a boycott).”

Sitting nearby was James Haney, NABC executive director, who tried to downplay the threat of a future walkout.

“It’s gone,” Haney said of the animosity between the coaches and the NCAA. “History is history. You can’t deny it existed. But we’re moving on.”

In fact, Raveling and Carlesimo said they expect significant and favorable legislative adjustments at the next NCAA convention in January.

Raveling based his prediction “on dialogue I’ve had with people in both groups.”

Carlesimo was even more upbeat.

“To get where we are now, to me, is an absolute incredible accomplishment,” said Carlesimo, who serves on the NABC’s board of directors. “Yeah, I think (the NCAA) is going to take a hard look (at the issues). I think there’s going to be an incredible amount of change.”

One topic that won’t go away: restoration of a 14th scholarship.

“I don’t think that’s a dead issue,” Raveling said. “I think that will be an issue revisited at the next convention.”

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NCAA Executive Director Cedric Dempsey met with reporters Thursday. Among the highlights:

--Dempsey echoed the words of Raveling, saying the mediated agreement was only the beginning of the negotiating process. He also said the powerful Presidents Commission had made “no commitment that any of those issues would be passed.”

As for the threat of a boycott, Dempsey said the NCAA never devised a contingency plan to deal with a tournament walkout.

--A newly formed NCAA education services division will begin operation as soon as a director can be hired. Watching closely, no doubt, will be the BCA, which has pushed for greater minority representation in the NCAA administrative offices.

Dempsey wouldn’t guarantee that a minority would be hired for the position, but he did say, “We are committed to increasing diversity.”

--Interviews have been completed with athletes concerning their thoughts on a possible Division I-A football playoff. Those players have expressed concern about lengthening the season, the loss of free time and the question of remuneration for their services in such a playoff system.

According to Dempsey, the earliest a playoff bracket could be put into place would be the 1995-96 season. Even then, there might not be time to negotiate television and radio rights.

“We may be looking at two years down the line in order to put it into place,” Dempsey said of the possible football championship.

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The NABC announced the formation of a 10-member USA Select Team made up entirely of college senior players.

The NABC-sponsored team will be coached by Massachusetts’ John Calipari, who will help whittle the long list of 40 candidates to the final cut. The team, which will assemble May 24, then travels to Portugal, France, Spain and Italy for games against those countries’ national entries in June.