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NEWS AND NOTES: GRASSROOTS WEEK

Rob Harrington
robharrington@prepstars.com
May 5, 2011

This week hasn’t been an enormous one in terms of direct recruiting news, but there’s been all sorts of developing material throughout the grassroots world. Big waves rippled on Thursday when long-time Maryland coach Gary Williams resigned from his post with the Terrapins.

The coaching savior of a program on probation who eventually led the club to a national championship in 2002, Williams’ exuberant gesticulations on the sidelines will be missed. Of course, for our purposes, the Terrapins now have recruiting questions with respect to their 2011 signees — including big-time wing Nick Faust — and promising 2012 commitment Justin Anderson.

A coaching change in May is atypical and, if the Terps pick off a head coach from another prominent program, could lead to another mini-wave of defections by recruits from their respective schools.

PENDING LEGISLATION AHEAD

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the NCAA is weighing proposals to alter the grassroots recruiting calendar. One such plan would eliminate the July evaluation period, something that in our minds would generate even more problems for coaches and players. Because college coaches so uniformly oppose that potential change, our guess is July will remain at least mostly intact.

Other changes would reestablish the April live period for coaches (which was eliminated a couple years ago), the absence of which has made formulating recruiting plans difficult for schools as each recruiting cycle begins in April.

What’s clear is that the NCAA wants to do something, whatever that may be. The organization is its most dangerous when it enters into action mode, such as the ill-conceived 5/8 rule that afflicted the college basketball universe several years ago.

TOC IS ON

Following up on a previous story, the Tournament of Champions — held during Memorial Day Weekend and one of the nation’s best events — will take place in a new environment in Raleigh, N.C. The TOC had been held for years at UNC, Duke and N.C. State, but the new legislation barring events from being held on the campuses of Division I programs cast everything into doubt.

The latest info is that the field will shrink by approximately half, with the hopes that most of the very best teams still will attend.