Youth Movement

Yet another sign of the apocalypse, ESPN.com reports that the socialist, agenda-wielding group known as the NCAA deemed that 7th graders--thats right, 7th graders--as college prospects. This coming months after the National Association of Basketball Coaches set restrictions on college coaches and their recruiting habits, no doubt focusing on the craddle-robbers of the hardwood.

The real question here is, why? What does a kid who probably spends more time texting that praticing his jumpshot should be available for scouting by coaches two levels above them? Do they want a visit from Chris Hansen? Does it give a school's boosters an opportunity to try out their latest bribery techinques? "I'll trade you two snack-packs for your verbal."

Maybe it was a scare tactic. Some people in the business I have talked to say this was a way to prevent coaches from calling the players. In the report, it is said to be a way of preventing college coaches from working middle-school-aged camps and gaining a recruiting edge over other programs. Hence the drop in the cut-off age from ninth grade to seventh. In that respect, it is a great idea.

But on the other hand, this only presents just one-more challenge that certain college coaches will have to find a loophole for to gain that edge. In this day of 'microwave' expectations, most programs will stop at nothing to find ways around the NCAA and their rules, and it seems to not stop coaches from doing what they can to win and subsequently keep their jobs.

It will be a matter of time to find out whether this curbs recruiting young, but if young players these days are choosing colleges before high schools (see: Boatwright, Ryan) it may just make players work harder to find a way to get to college coaches.