The rule changes in NCAA basketball have sent a ripple effect through the basketball world, affecting both the NBA and USA Basketball.
Some drastic changes include the option for those who declare for the draft to return to their school if they end up going undrafted and a major overhaul of the recruiting calendar. Before, players were forced to look for a G League contract or play overseas if going undrafted, and now there is a much lengthier recruitment period.
The change that most affected USA Basketball was that “elite prospects” will be allowed to hire agents at some point in the future. So what does this have to do with USA Basketball? It is up to their organization to decide which players qualify as elite, therefore allowing them to sign with an agent.
This is an immense responsibility to carry, and apparently, not something that the organization wanted a part of. Ideally, the NBA would handle designating the prospects, handling them just as they handle the majority of the draft process.
If USA Basketball still holds doubt about its newfound responsibility, they did not voice them in a recent tweet.
USA Basketball statement on NCAA rule changes: “USA Basketball has been working with the NBA, NBPA and NCAA since April to make sure we do all the right things for our young basketball athletes. We look forward to continuing our discussions..to improve and create opportunities.."
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 9, 2018
Although they might have been blindsided by the rule change, it looks like they are willing to work with the new rules and see how it pans out. After all, it is in their best interest to develop these players as much as possible, as future Team USA teams will more than likely be made up of many of these “elite prospects.”
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