NCAA President Mark Emmert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver "don't agree on a solution" to basketball's one-and-done rule, according to Blair Kerkhoff of the K.C. STAR. Emmert "believes in a direct path from the high schools to the NBA." He said, "My position is a young man or woman shouldn’t have to go to college to become a professional athlete. If they want to come to college to become a better athlete and get a degree, then come on. But to force someone to go to college that has no interest in being in college makes a travesty of the whole notion of a college athlete. I would love to work with anybody in the pro leagues to provide a system that works.” Emmert on Thursday "floated the notion of allowing early entrants to spend one year" in the NBA D-League and "return to school." Emmert also has suggested an "NFL-style combine for pro prospects so that information about college players’ future isn’t coming from agents or coaches." Emmert: “They’ve been hearing since 8 that ‘You’re the best I’ve ever seen.'" He added that one of the "biggest problems for one-and-done recruits is a lack of 'good, realistic, objective information,' about their pro potential" (K.C. STAR, 4/24).
GRID IRON GROWTH: Emmert on Thursday said that the "rapid rise in compensation for top-tier college football coaches is 'clearly not sustainable.'" He added that he is "concerned the increase in salaries could lead to universities dropping non-revenue sports programs." Emmert: "I worry about on the expenditure side the decisions that universities will make in order to support the high profile sports." On Long Island, Jim Baumbach notes the "stark rise in salaries" for the 128 coaches in FBS "also comes at a time when many schools across the nation are dealing with declining attendance and the cost of a college degree has never been higher." Emmert: "Of course it's problematic" (NEWSDAY, 4/24).
