NCAA bans college coaches from meeting with recruits due to concerns over coronavirus
Nike announced Friday that the first two sessions of the Elite Youth Basketball League have been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and the NCAA placed a full ban on all in-person recruiting for college coaches.
The Nike EYBL is the premier travel league for high school basketball recruits, producing most of Kentucky’s future players over the past few years. It’s also the circuit where UK’s coaches spend most of their time during the offseason recruiting evaluation periods.
Nike EYBL play was scheduled to begin April 17 in Indianapolis, with the second session set for April 24 in the Atlanta area. Those two weekends also fall during the only two spring evaluation periods that the NCAA has set aside for college coaches to watch prospective recruits.
The first two girls’ sessions of the Nike EYBL — set for Hampton, Va., on April 24-26 and Portland, Ore., on May 15-17 — were also canceled.
The spring periods give coaches a chance to evaluate players that are already targeting, and those sessions often lead to breakout performances for less-known recruits, who accumulate scholarship offers and can rise in the rankings as a result of their play.
The NCAA also announced Friday afternoon that it has suspended all in-person recruiting activities for college coaches in all sports — on and off campus — until at least April 15. The NCAA noted that telephone calls and written correspondence between schools and prospective recruits would still be permitted during this period.
Under normal circumstances, the NCAA’s recruiting calendar would have allowed for college basketball coaches to continue to have off-campus recruiting contact though the end of March while hosting on-campus recruiting visits though April 3. Such recruiting contact will now be forbidden due to ongoing concern over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The NCAA had previously scheduled evaluation periods for June — centered on the annual NBPA Top 100 Camp and USA Basketball events — before the final evaluation period in July, when Nike’s Peach Jam finals and other major recruiting showcases are played.
The SEC announced later Friday that all organized team activities, including competitions, team and individual practices, meetings and other organized gatherings, will be suspended through April 15. The league had previously announced all competition was suspended through March 30.
The Herald-Leader was told that Friday’s directives will also apply to any individual workouts between coaches and players, meaning UK’s current basketball players — whether they’re thinking about entering the NBA Draft or not — won’t be permitted to have in-person, on-the-court contact with the Wildcats’ coaching staff during this period.
UK Coach John Calipari said Thursday night on “SportsCenter” that he had planned to meet individually with all of his players Friday, and he said he hoped they would stay in Lexington and work out with the Wildcats’ coaching staff as they mulled their next step.
“You need to get back here and let us train you,” Calipari said. “And we will spend our time, three times a day if we have to, training you and getting you ready for what’s ahead. But you may not know where the end of the road is. … This is a hard thing for these kids. Think about it.”
The NBA Draft Combine is currently scheduled for May 21-24, with the draft withdrawal deadline for players looking to return to college set for June 3. The NBA Draft is scheduled for June 25 in Brooklyn, but with the league activities currently suspended, it’s unclear if any or all of those dates will remain the same.
Nike basketball shuts down
Nike announced its decision to halt EYBL play in a statement Friday afternoon.
“While we understand how disappointing this is for the athletes, their families, and our EYBL programs, in everything we do, we must prioritize the health and safety of our employees, athletes and consumers,” the statement read. “One of the hallmarks of the EYBL is elite competition being evaluated by the top college coaches. We are working diligently to ensure that this season will provide additional evaluation opportunities for our athletes.”
All six of Kentucky’s signees for next season — Devin Askew, Brandon Boston, Terrence Clarke, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Isaiah Jackson and Lance Ware — played in the Nike EYBL last year, as did five-star forward Greg Brown, who is the only remaining player in the 2020 class with a Kentucky scholarship offer.
Other recent UK players who were Nike EYBL alumni include Keion Brooks, Tyrese Maxey, Kahlil Whitney, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, Reid Travis, Hamidou Diallo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Knox, Nick Richards, Jarred Vanderbilt, PJ Washington, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk.
Over the past four UK recruiting classes, 18 of the Wildcats’ 24 signees have been former Nike EYBL players.
Later Friday afternoon, Adidas and Under Armour announced that their travel league games originally scheduled for April had also been canceled. The Adidas circuit was supposed to start April 17 with games in Louisville.
The cancellation of the Nike EYBL sessions was not unexpected, given the effect that concern over coronavirus has had on other sports leagues. The NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball have all suspended their seasons, the NCAA Tournament has been canceled, and several other sports are suspending or canceling activities.
The three biggest postseason all-star games for high school basketball recruits — the McDonald’s All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit — have also been canceled.
There have been rumblings in recruiting circles over the past few days that the NCAA might add some extra evaluation periods later in the calendar year, if possible, to make up for what was seen as the inevitable cancellation of the April recruiting sessions, so it’s still possible that college coaches could get additional opportunities to see prospective recruits from the 2021 class and beyond, before they start their final season of high school basketball later this year.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 2:00 PM.
