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The Daily OrangeMBB | School's out
New NCAA legislation could force more prospects to junior college instead of prep school
By George Williams
Posted: 9/17/07, 10:54 PM EST Section: Sports
Ontario Lett started 25 games during his senior season for Pittsburgh, averaging just under 10 points per game at a team-high 60 percent shooting mark. He played a key role in leading Pitt to back-to-back Sweet 16s in 2002 and 2003.
But Lett didn't take the traditional route to the Big East power. He transferred to Pittsburgh for his junior season after three years at Pensacola Junior College in Pensacola, Fla.
Quickly, junior college became Lett's savior. It was his ticket to a diploma and a chance to play competitive basketball at a top Big East university.
"Without junior college, that kid would be working the typical flipping burgers job instead of having a legit degree from a Big East university," said Rick Ball, who has run the junior college scouting service, BallPlayers, for 27 years. "And not to mention he's getting to play pro ball in Europe."
Lett is an anomaly, though.
Most top Division I schools, Syracuse included, have traditionally bypassed junior-college - generally referred to as juco - athletes in favor of prep school alternatives. But new legislation by the NCAA could reverse that trend, with more athletes perhaps forced to take the juco route if they are not qualified academically.
In an effort to crack down on illegitimate preparatory schools, the NCAA's Division I Board of Directors passed legislation last April allowing athletes to count just one core course that they take after graduating high school toward the academic requirements needed for college sports.
In the past, athletes who were academically behind simply spent a fifth year at a prep school to accumulate the 14 required core courses to attend a university. This also allowed them to continue polishing their skills while not losing any years of eligibility.
While the legislation is intended to be imposed on all sports, basketball may be the hardest hit. The legislation serves to eliminate those prep schools that have been termed "diploma mills," that is, they exist solely for the purpose of graduating athletes and have little, if any, actual educational benefit. Lutheran Christian Academy in Philadelphia - which, according to a story in The New York Times in 2006, did not require students to attend classes and had only one instructor, the basketball coach - is one such school. The NCAA has banned its member schools from accepting diplomas from at least 15 of these schools.
Those opposed to the rule argue that it hurts the legitimate prep schools that have been around for 30 or 40 years and that have served players equally in academics and athletics.
"There are a lot of good prep schools out there, and I just think the legislation needs to be adapted a little bit to the kid that struggles one year and needs to go to prep school to go and take four or five core courses to get back, get eligible," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said in a phone interview.
Boeheim, the sitting president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, said he doubted the prevalence of illegitimate prep schools, citing a lack of incriminating evidence.
His stance mirrors that of most coaches in top D-I programs. It's become common practice for these schools to encourage athletes to attend prep schools when academically ineligible for college.
"We've only taken one [sic] junior college player in the last 20 years," Boeheim said. "So we don't like junior college players. We'd rather have a kid for four years."
In fact, Syracuse has had at least three juco recruits in the last 20 seasons. Kristof Ongenaet is the most recent - he transferred to Syracuse this fall after two years at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Michael Lloyd and Jason Cipolla both transferred to SU from junior colleges in 1994.
Still, to put it into perspective, there are a total of four juco transfer students this year in the entire Big East conference. Syracuse, Pittsburgh, South Florida and DePaul each have one.
Meanwhile, prep schools produce D-I athletes regularly. Among the more recent SU basketball players that have taken the prep school route are Paul Harris, Eric Devendorf and incoming freshman Sean Williams. All three of Villanova's incoming freshmen recruits come from prep schools.
Lett's former head coach at Pensacola Junior College, Paul Swanson, is a supporter of the ruling. He said he doesn't blame Division I schools, though, for taking advantage of the flawed system while it was in place.
"Ninety-nine percent of college coaches would like to do the right thing with kids," Swanson said. "I believe that, but they're under such intense pressure to win, to keep their jobs, that they have to do what they have to do, and getting a kid who can play eligible and getting him on the court is critical."
Swanson acknowledged the existence of fraudulent prep schools emerging over the last few years. He said he's never been anti-prep school, just anti-illegitimate prep school.
"What you can't do anymore is go somewhere and retake five classes that you fail, and in one year, go from five F's to five A's and go from a 1.9 to a 3.2," Swanson said. "That's what's been eliminated."
Ball, who has been scouting juco talent since 1979, said the legislation has already had an immediate impact, upping the talent level in juco basketball by 10 percent in each of the past two years. In 1991, he started BallStars, the first ever summer basketball camp for juco athletes. One of the players to attend that camp was current Phoenix Suns forward Shawn Marion, who went to Vincennes (Ind.) University before committing to Nevada-Las Vegas in 1997.
Whether the jump in juco talent translates into more D-I schools recruiting junior college athletes remains in question.
"It's hard to say," Boeheim said. "I think there are enough good players that have good grades that you can still recruit."
Boeheim added that he thinks athletes will learn to adjust to the new rule and find a better way to complete the necessary core courses. Of perhaps equal concern for college and prep school coaches is another NCAA ruling that increases the amount of core courses needed from 14 to 16 in 2008.
Raphael Chillious, the head basketball coach at South Kent School, a prep school in Connecticut, has decided not to take any athletes in need of re-classification this season.
That is, he intentionally did not recruit any kids that might need a fifth year because they were ineligible to attend college.
"I think it's putting a lot of pressure on, to me, where it should be - on public school coaches to not just have your kid out there playing for you," Chillious said. "That as early as possible in their academic career (the coaches are) taking a vested interest in their academics."
Chillious said he's always been a strong believer in junior colleges. He said if the legislation forces more kids to take the juco route, then so be it.
"(The rule) is not benefiting kids who are 200-300 points off the test and five or six core courses short," Chillious said. "That type of kid, to me, should be going to junior college."
Lett fell into this category. He was so far behind academically after high school that he was forced to attend his local community college for a full three years. But by the time he had finished his academic work at Pensacola Junior College, Pittsburgh was easy, Lett said.
It's still too early to make a verdict on whether the NCAA's legislation will tarnish the reputations of legitimate prep schools. It's more likely than not, though, that both college and preparatory programs will adjust, and some athletes will have no option but to attend junior colleges and lose those two years of eligibility at the college level.
But Lett still gladly endorses the juco route over prep schooling.
"I definitely recommend junior college because it's going to be more of in the process of where you're going to be in a program for two years instead of one," Lett said. "So now you have a chance to develop even more on and off the court."
But Lett didn't take the traditional route to the Big East power. He transferred to Pittsburgh for his junior season after three years at Pensacola Junior College in Pensacola, Fla.
Quickly, junior college became Lett's savior. It was his ticket to a diploma and a chance to play competitive basketball at a top Big East university.
"Without junior college, that kid would be working the typical flipping burgers job instead of having a legit degree from a Big East university," said Rick Ball, who has run the junior college scouting service, BallPlayers, for 27 years. "And not to mention he's getting to play pro ball in Europe."
Lett is an anomaly, though.
Most top Division I schools, Syracuse included, have traditionally bypassed junior-college - generally referred to as juco - athletes in favor of prep school alternatives. But new legislation by the NCAA could reverse that trend, with more athletes perhaps forced to take the juco route if they are not qualified academically.
In an effort to crack down on illegitimate preparatory schools, the NCAA's Division I Board of Directors passed legislation last April allowing athletes to count just one core course that they take after graduating high school toward the academic requirements needed for college sports.
In the past, athletes who were academically behind simply spent a fifth year at a prep school to accumulate the 14 required core courses to attend a university. This also allowed them to continue polishing their skills while not losing any years of eligibility.
While the legislation is intended to be imposed on all sports, basketball may be the hardest hit. The legislation serves to eliminate those prep schools that have been termed "diploma mills," that is, they exist solely for the purpose of graduating athletes and have little, if any, actual educational benefit. Lutheran Christian Academy in Philadelphia - which, according to a story in The New York Times in 2006, did not require students to attend classes and had only one instructor, the basketball coach - is one such school. The NCAA has banned its member schools from accepting diplomas from at least 15 of these schools.
Those opposed to the rule argue that it hurts the legitimate prep schools that have been around for 30 or 40 years and that have served players equally in academics and athletics.
"There are a lot of good prep schools out there, and I just think the legislation needs to be adapted a little bit to the kid that struggles one year and needs to go to prep school to go and take four or five core courses to get back, get eligible," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said in a phone interview.
Boeheim, the sitting president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, said he doubted the prevalence of illegitimate prep schools, citing a lack of incriminating evidence.
His stance mirrors that of most coaches in top D-I programs. It's become common practice for these schools to encourage athletes to attend prep schools when academically ineligible for college.
"We've only taken one [sic] junior college player in the last 20 years," Boeheim said. "So we don't like junior college players. We'd rather have a kid for four years."
In fact, Syracuse has had at least three juco recruits in the last 20 seasons. Kristof Ongenaet is the most recent - he transferred to Syracuse this fall after two years at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Michael Lloyd and Jason Cipolla both transferred to SU from junior colleges in 1994.
Still, to put it into perspective, there are a total of four juco transfer students this year in the entire Big East conference. Syracuse, Pittsburgh, South Florida and DePaul each have one.
Meanwhile, prep schools produce D-I athletes regularly. Among the more recent SU basketball players that have taken the prep school route are Paul Harris, Eric Devendorf and incoming freshman Sean Williams. All three of Villanova's incoming freshmen recruits come from prep schools.
Lett's former head coach at Pensacola Junior College, Paul Swanson, is a supporter of the ruling. He said he doesn't blame Division I schools, though, for taking advantage of the flawed system while it was in place.
"Ninety-nine percent of college coaches would like to do the right thing with kids," Swanson said. "I believe that, but they're under such intense pressure to win, to keep their jobs, that they have to do what they have to do, and getting a kid who can play eligible and getting him on the court is critical."
Swanson acknowledged the existence of fraudulent prep schools emerging over the last few years. He said he's never been anti-prep school, just anti-illegitimate prep school.
"What you can't do anymore is go somewhere and retake five classes that you fail, and in one year, go from five F's to five A's and go from a 1.9 to a 3.2," Swanson said. "That's what's been eliminated."
Ball, who has been scouting juco talent since 1979, said the legislation has already had an immediate impact, upping the talent level in juco basketball by 10 percent in each of the past two years. In 1991, he started BallStars, the first ever summer basketball camp for juco athletes. One of the players to attend that camp was current Phoenix Suns forward Shawn Marion, who went to Vincennes (Ind.) University before committing to Nevada-Las Vegas in 1997.
Whether the jump in juco talent translates into more D-I schools recruiting junior college athletes remains in question.
"It's hard to say," Boeheim said. "I think there are enough good players that have good grades that you can still recruit."
Boeheim added that he thinks athletes will learn to adjust to the new rule and find a better way to complete the necessary core courses. Of perhaps equal concern for college and prep school coaches is another NCAA ruling that increases the amount of core courses needed from 14 to 16 in 2008.
Raphael Chillious, the head basketball coach at South Kent School, a prep school in Connecticut, has decided not to take any athletes in need of re-classification this season.
That is, he intentionally did not recruit any kids that might need a fifth year because they were ineligible to attend college.
"I think it's putting a lot of pressure on, to me, where it should be - on public school coaches to not just have your kid out there playing for you," Chillious said. "That as early as possible in their academic career (the coaches are) taking a vested interest in their academics."
Chillious said he's always been a strong believer in junior colleges. He said if the legislation forces more kids to take the juco route, then so be it.
"(The rule) is not benefiting kids who are 200-300 points off the test and five or six core courses short," Chillious said. "That type of kid, to me, should be going to junior college."
Lett fell into this category. He was so far behind academically after high school that he was forced to attend his local community college for a full three years. But by the time he had finished his academic work at Pensacola Junior College, Pittsburgh was easy, Lett said.
It's still too early to make a verdict on whether the NCAA's legislation will tarnish the reputations of legitimate prep schools. It's more likely than not, though, that both college and preparatory programs will adjust, and some athletes will have no option but to attend junior colleges and lose those two years of eligibility at the college level.
But Lett still gladly endorses the juco route over prep schooling.
"I definitely recommend junior college because it's going to be more of in the process of where you're going to be in a program for two years instead of one," Lett said. "So now you have a chance to develop even more on and off the court."
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