Williams, Boeheim Favor Change by Degrees
While NCAA President Myles Brand advocates the implementation of an incentive-disincentive system to reward or punish schools based on their athletes’ graduation rates, he also wants to see a change in the way such rates are determined.
And that’s just fine with coaches, who abhor the current system, which works over a six-year period, because it only considers players who enter as freshmen, and because those who leave early or transfer count against the graduation rate, even if they earn a degree elsewhere.
“There’s no doubt in my mind it should be revised,” Kansas Coach Roy Williams said. “Jarod Haase went to California, then transferred to Kansas, got his degree at Kansas, was an academic all-American at Kansas. He doesn’t count at Kansas or at Cal.
“Paul Pierce leaves and goes to the NBA. Not a bad deal. He signed a $70-million contract.... I think when somebody leaves in good academic standing, grades in good shape, that should be considered as well if they’re going to the NBA.”
Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim agreed: “It’s patently unfair ... based on six years.”
How to best gauge graduation-rate success and failure is up to a 13-member committee. Vanderbilt Athletic Director Todd Turner, the committee chairman, said academic progress reports, school retention rates and a three-year study of academic data expected to begin with the 2003-04 school year will lead to an incentive-disincentive package by the 2006-07 school year.
Seeking to establish an annual academic progress rate on which to base rewards and penalties, the committee, which includes UCLA associate athletic director Betsy Stephenson, inspected academic records of 20,000 NCAA student-athletes.
“This will be a little tricky,” Turner said. “The data we’ve looked at is vital but incomplete, and we are in agreement that graduation rates alone aren’t capturing the true picture of what’s happening with our student-athletes. Determining how to best use historical data and actual progress is what we’re doing.”
The group, Turner said, is targeting “habitual underachievers and overperformers” subject to penalties such as lost scholarships and postseason bans and rewards such as revenue.
-- Paul Gutierrez and Lance Pugmire
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T.J. Cummings did not attend the team meeting Thursday at which UCLA Coach Ben Howland was introduced, a signal that perhaps the 6-foot-10 post player is following through with plans to make himself eligible for the NBA draft.
Cummings, who would be a senior next season, said after the last game that he will explore leaving school. Two NBA scouts said he has little chance of getting drafted. He is enrolled in the spring quarter, although his academic progress was questionable in the winter.
Cummings averaged 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in 23 minutes a game. He lost his starting position to freshman Ryan Hollins midway through the season and was used as a sixth man thereafter.
Howland plans to meet with each player Monday.
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Howland might be able to bring his top Pittsburgh assistant to UCLA. Jamie Dixon, who has worked under Howland for nine years, did not land the head coaching job at Wright State, where he was a finalist.
Paul Biancardi, an assistant at Ohio State, was named Wright State coach Friday.
Dixon, a North Hollywood native who played at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High, is considered an excellent recruiter. He also is a candidate for the head coaching opening at Illinois State.
-- Steve Henson
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Daryl Pegram, a 6-9 freshman forward who played two games for Indiana this season, has told officials at Loyola Marymount he will enroll there for fall classes. Pegram played at Fontana Miller High before leaving for Worcester Academy near Boston.
At Indiana, Pegram suffered tendinitis in his left knee. With his playing time eliminated, he told Coach Mike Davis in February that he would transfer. Pegram will be eligible to play for Loyola Marymount in the 2004-05 season.
-- Lance Pugmire
