New NCAA legislation would come at expense of student-athlete

When Washington guard Isaiah Thomas announced he was turning pro two weeks ago, he admitted he would have merely tested the waters under the old rules allowing early entry prospects to withdraw up to 10 days before the NBA draft.

The junior guard echoed the concerns of other draft hopefuls who have said the new accelerated May 8 deadline doesn't give underclassmen enough time to work out for NBA teams and properly evaluate their stock.

Amid mounting criticism regarding the rushed draft withdrawal deadline, the NCAA's Legislative Council inexplicably showed no concern for the welfare of the student-athlete when it met earlier this week.

No, it didn't vote to push back the deadline until mid-June the way it had been prior to last year. Instead it approved a proposal which would move the early entry deadline for college underclassmen to the day before the spring letter-of-intent signing period, which begins in mid-April every year.

The lone hope to prevent this regrettable piece of legislation is the NCAA board of directors vetoing it when they meet on April 28. Otherwise beginning next season underclassmen could have as little as one week after the end of the NCAA tournament to decide whether they intend to turn pro or not.

For draft hopefuls who participated in the Final Four like Butler's Shelvin Mack or Kentucky's Brandon Knight, that absurdly accelerated time table would make a difficult decision even tougher.

There would be less time to allow the put the emotions of the season to rest and make a rational, well-informed decision. There would be less time to gather information from NBA scouts and executives. And there would be no time to conduct workouts for NBA teams since franchises don't typically hold them that early in the year.

Who's behind the push to move the deadline to mid-April? The same coaches who called for the deadline to move to May 8 instead of sticking with the NBA deadline of 10 days before the draft.

The reason coaches want the date to be sooner is because the sooner they know which prospects are staying and which are going, the sooner they can begin filling holes in their roster. If the deadlines moves to before the spring signing period, there's more of a chance for programs to woo a recruit to fill the void left by a departing underclassman.

There's some sound logic behind that premise, yet it comes down to this: Does the NCAA want to protect the interest of the coaches or the student-athletes?

If the coaches come first, by all means move the early-entry deadline to mid-April. Heck, move it to the day after the national title game.� If the student-athletes come first, then push the withdrawal deadline back to mid-June and give draft prospects the chance to truly test the waters again.

Bridget Moynahan Noureen DeWulf Nicollette Sheridan Amber Heard Veronica Kay