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NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOURApril 1, 2010Jim HaneyErnie KentTubby SmithINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA RICK LEDDY: I'm going to turn this over to begin the press conference with Jim Haney, executive director of the NABC. JIM HANEY: Good afternoon. We don't come with a lot of topics to present. We're obviously prepared to answer questions. I do think the one issue we would be remiss in not addressing, because it's become such a focal point over the last month, six weeks, even beyond, the issue of expansion. So I may sort of address that, if I may. I think first and foremost, there's no question, from the NABC board's perspective, and I believe that's broader than that, but we interact with the NCAA a little bit more directly than our whole membership does. We have great confidence in the NCAA and their ability to take what is a complex issue and look at all the various options. It's no surprise the NABC coaches clearly feel that one of the criteria for their sustaining their positions is to make the NCAA tournament. That's sort of the measuring stick by which they're judged either directly or indirectly. So I think they accept that challenge. So it's no surprise it's been this way for as long as I've been executive director, which dates back to 1992, that our coaches more would favor expansion than those that would oppose it. Clearly there are two sides. We're obviously interested in the outcome. We have no real say in the outcome, per se. We appreciate the fact that people are interested in our opinions. But we know, again, it's a very complex issue involving the NCAA broad-based, the institutions, all that are involved. But we're confident in the basketball committee, the NCAA staff, and those that are leading this course of discovery that a good decision will be forthcoming, whatever that may be. That's sort of our overview of that topic. As I mentioned earlier, we really don't come with a lot of issues. In terms of specific things we wanted to address, we're happy to answer questions. Q. Tubby, if you could talk about, there's been some people saying that the Final Four lacks star power this season. Do you think that's an unfair assessment based on the teams that are involved this weekend? TUBBY SMITH: Oh, yeah. Because I've had the good fortune and bad fortune to coach against two of these teams in the Final Four. I can tell you right now, Butler, even though they're considered -- some people consider them a mid-major, they're as talented as anyone. They probably have two or three pro players on their team. We played them back in November in Anaheim. So they're a very talented team. They've proven they can play with anyone. When you're talking about star power, certainly West Virginia with Bobby Huggins and the job he's done, Mike Krzyzewski, the number of Final Fours he's been to, and Tom Izzo from Michigan State. I think the talented players, that's what it's about. It's about the players, not the coaches, I think each coach would tell you that. So having coached against the Spartans, I can tell you there's a lot of stars, a lot of talented players. When I look around, I see the logos, you see how excited people are about the Final Four. To have Butler here, a local team, just makes it that much more exciting. I think it's even greater star power because of that. Q. On the expansion issue, understanding the fact that by and large you all favor the concept of an expanded field, one big concern is the 'watering down' of the tournament. If there are 32 additional teams, maybe eight of them go to mid- to lower-echelon conference champions that don't get in now, will they be, in your opinion, NCAA-caliber teams? Is there any concern at all about the 'watering down' effect? TUBBY SMITH: Well, yeah, I don't see any watering down at all. I just see a great opportunity for a number of student-athletes that can, I guess, share in this exciting time. It is an opportunity for them to travel and measure themselves against some of the better teams. There have been a number of upsets. We always talk about parity. There have been a number of teams, Butler, for example, Xavier, for example, they beat us. I know the BCS conferences, we have a lot of talented players, good coaches. But everyone has that throughout the country now. I think the reduction in scholarships, you saw that happening. And the expansion to whatever, if it ever happens, certainly we are in favor of it. But I think, you know, there are a number of teams that could have gotten in that are playing in the NIT now. So I think quite the contrary. I think more people are going to be excited. More people are going to be following March Madness. More people are going to be participating because there are going to be more teams in the NCAA. ERNIE KENT: I feel the number of teams that have expanded in our association to date, when you talk about coaching teams, getting them to March Madness, seeing the excitement in the locker room, that's almost like a whole new season that starts all over again. I don't think there's going to be a watering down. I think you give more people an opportunity to get excited about it, to get into it. Right now it's one of the best, if not the best, game that's out there. I don't think it gets any better than March Madness. When you talk about watering it down, I don't see that at all. I see the opposite of that happening. TUBBY SMITH: Since the expansion, we've gone to 347 Division I teams now, that play in Division I basketball, why not expand it? If that expansion is happening in that area, you know, I think it only stands to reason you should expand the tournament. That's how I see it. Q. Can you all just talk about the different ideas for expansion. There's been talk of possibly 68 teams, 96. Is there one that you favor right now? Should it be a moderate expansion? What are your thoughts on that? JIM HANEY: Again, I think generally if you were asking coaches, again, just from the self-preservation perspective, they would say, Whatever the higher number is, I'd be in favor of that, again, because it's very permanent. You're trying to keep your job, build a program. Any time you can make the NCAA tournament, whether it's 64 teams, 65 teams, 96 teams, it's something that you can look to with pride that you and your team have accomplished something, to participate in the NCAA championships. But we haven't had any discussions regarding what the number should be or anything of that nature. Again, I think what's on the minds of our coaches really is to build their programs and get them as good as they can be to even have the opportunity to be considered to be in the tournament as an at-large team, so... Q. Jim, can you talk about whether or not you may push for coaches to have more time with players? I know it's something that Tubby Smith has mentioned this season. Do you think the NCAA should allow more opportunities for coaches to interact with their players, especially in the off-season? JIM HANEY: To frame it, we do have that opportunity in the fall and the spring. Where we don't have that opportunity right now is in the summer. And one of the things that we're very much trying to convey to our coaches, to faculty representatives and others, that when we look at the summer, the summer is much more than trying to help a young man become a better basketball player; it's about helping young people graduate. The summer, NCAA research shows, the summer school is a catalyst to graduation. It's a catalyst for programs to meet the Academic Progress Rate. We're strong advocates of the opportunity for kids to go to summer school. You may say, Give kids that opportunity all across Division I. That's not the case. There are a number of institutions not willing to pay for summer school. As a result, if kids are going to try to get ahead and graduate in four years, they're going to have to end up having to take a lot more hours in the heat of fall and spring when basketball is going on. That's a challenge. So we feel strongly that summer school, first and foremost, is critical for academic progress. The other issue is, you know, there is the Academic Progress Rate and the whole issue of retention. Again, the summer becomes important because in the summer, there are more and more influences on our young student-athletes. They can be advisors, non-scholastic coaches earlier in their careers, they can be parents who are trying to encourage them to leave campus, go work out with a 'coach,' so you can improve your skills, be better prepared to be a professional player. So our ability to keep kids on track, to graduate on track to meet APR, the summer becomes a very important piece in that. Again, it has an important place because of this whole retention issue. So then with those factors, summer school and retention, it becomes important that the coach has an opportunity to interact with the student-athlete, not just about his academics, but also help him be a better player. We know if you're devoting that kind of energy, that kind of time, you're on scholarship, you are, in fact, trying to get better because you want more playing time, you want a more significant role on your team, so you want to take advantage of working with a coach. So we see the summer as an important piece. First and foremost, it's important because of the academics. Complementary to that is to nurture and help build stronger relationships with the student-athlete, to help him be a better player come the fall, in hopes that if he's being told to go elsewhere, to transfer because he'll get more playing time or get more shots or he'll get a better role, that he'll say, My entire experience on campus is worthwhile because of the relationship I have with my teammates and my coaches. That's a long answer, but... TUBBY SMITH: I might add, a kid would be motivated and inspired to stay focused academically if he knew coach is available for him a couple hours a week, he's there monitoring him, watching his progress. Not just on the basketball court, but in the classroom as well. There's nothing greater. I think most of us participated in college athletics. I don't think there's anything that could be better than to take a class or two in the summer, you know, get a workout in that afternoon. You come back and play in a summer league that night. I mean, you know, academically, you'd be motivated and inspired, I think, to get better. ERNIE KENT: I've spent six years at Saint Mary's before the APR came out and had a very high graduation rate. We utilized the summer to do that. 13 years at the University of Oregon, the last five or six years after the Academic Progress Rate has come out. We've done an outstanding job with our student-athletes there. We've graduated them. We've had one of the highest academic progress reports in college basketball. More importantly, what I think it has done for these kids, it's given us an opportunity to spend some valuable, unique time with them during the summer where you don't have the pressures of the season being there, the pressures of the media there. You have a lot of one-on-one time where the pressure is off of them, and you as well. I think it's a very important part of their development and has given us an opportunity, at least in our situation, to develop some outstanding young men. The summer has had a lot to do with that. From a coaching perspective, maybe it's looked at that we want more time for basketball. That might be secondary to what we want. What we want is more time to develop young people. I think it's critical in where we are at in our stage, where we are in our society today, the more time we can get with them as mentors, the better it's going to be for them, as well. Q. Since January, Arne Duncan, had some fairly harsh words, without naming names, but basketball coaches in general, wanting crack-downs on academics, wanting crack-downs on malfeasance with rules or otherwise. Have you taken exception? He's been fairly pointed in his remarks. Do his concerns have some justification? I'm wondering how you in general have responded? JIM HANEY: Let me respond to that. Arne Duncan was a member of the NABC Foundation for, I want to say, six years. We knew him when we called him Arne, and not Secretary Duncan. He's really a good guy, loves the game. I think his heart is that he wants, obviously, men's basketball student-athletes to be excelling in the classroom. I think his remarks reflect in some ways also, you know, the issue of preparation, which I know he's very concerned about, younger ages for people across the country. You know, I think that the steps that the NCAA has taken with the Academic Progress Rate, to give a real-time snapshot of where programs are, is a good insight into the progress being made academically in men's basketball. I think one of the unfortunate aspects of looking at graduation rates sometimes is it lags behind. Some of the changes, the reforms that have taken place through the NCAA in recent years are not reflected in the numbers that date back, you know, six and seven years or over that time frame. So I had a number of coaches call me and say, Geez, I'm on the list. I think Secretary Duncan is pointing at me, and yet, if he looked one year later, we'll have 77% of our student-athletes graduating, you know, because I inherited a program that had certain things that I took over. It's much more complex. But I understand Secretary Duncan's desire to shed light on what he considers an important point. But I'm pleased to be able to say also I think the NCAA has taken really strong steps to address academics and, again, real-time snapshots in terms of how basketball programs are addressing the whole issue of academics with their student-athletes. I think the other piece that sometimes there's good in what may be considered bad news, I go back to when we look at across the board, we know that not every institution is providing summer assistance, summer financial aid to student-athletes. We know, again, from research that if that were being done across Division I, it would have a significant impact on graduation rates and APRs. From my perspective, I'm glad he said what he had to say because I think it helps shed light on at least one remedy to that: we can't necessarily affect at the collegiate level what's happening in high schools and junior highs and younger, but I do think that we have the opportunity to do something that is within our control, and that is to fund men's basketball players to go to summer school. Q. Have you all taken a position on the NCAA instituting the coach's APR? They'll roll those out this summer. How do the individual coaches feel about that personally. The coach's APR, the NCAA is computing individual coach's APRs and release what their year-to-year team's APRs have been. They want to shed light on that. Some coaches have not reacted positively to that. I didn't know if the NABC has taken a position as an association, but in addition to that, I was curious how you felt individually. JIM HANEY: The APR for a coach, in terms of his yearly numbers, was available prior to the coach's APR. It was just a matter of the doing the research. I think what in essence has happened is it's now easier to find that information. I think our coaches have concerns about it because they inherit programs that they had nothing to do, and yet it's going to impact what their APR numbers are, not by anything they've done. I think the other thing that I think is probably broadly felt by the coaches is that it goes against the notion that it's a responsibility, surely, of the coach, and he accepts that, accountability, but at the same time, he's just one piece of the academic support system. There are academic advisors, there are compliance coordinators, there's tutors, there's any number of people that are interfacing to help create the framework by which a student-athlete, men's basketball student-athlete, is supported in his academic pursuits. The coach has the ability to motivate and encourage, but at the end of the day, he can't sweat the courses. He's not allowed to contact professors. He's got his niche. And he can help set the tone, but ultimately it's not just him; it's from the president on down. Again, it leads me right back, probably this is my resounding message for the day, men's basketball student-athletes should be funded to go to summer school across Division I. I think if that were happening, we'd see significant improvement in APR scores and graduation rates. ERNIE KENT: I don't think you'll find a coach in college basketball that will tell you they do not want an athlete to graduate and to be successful. I just don't think you're going to find that. I think there are some problems out there that may limit coaches doing a good job with their student-athletes. But you will not find a coach out there that does not want a student-athlete to be successful. The bigger problem starts at the high school level, where it needs to be funded more. So as kids come out, they're better equipped. When we get them, I think we do a pretty good job with them. You talk about study tables, the manner in which we handle our student-athletes to stay on top of them for them to be successful, we need them to be successful, we want them to be successful. We do not want them to fail. When we look again at funding the summer, that's just another mechanism that gives us an opportunity to have our student-athletes be successful at our level. TUBBY SMITH: I certainly echo what Jim and Ernie said about why we teach and why we coach. It's to help others better themselves, be able to be productive citizens, raise their families. So that's a whole component. Academics is pretty high, is the most important part of it. But also the social, emotional, spiritual development of this young man or women, so they can go out and be good people. And basketball, I say it all the time when I'm recruiting, it's a by-product of them reaching their potential as people, and them becoming successful. I think the big key is the goal setting. If the goal is that this young man or woman graduates, and he's come to your institution, then you should be willing to step up and fund at the level, at every level possible, because these young athletes are asked to do a lot. There's a lot of time away in basketball. It covers two semesters usually. It's a tough time. It's a challenge. I'm the biggest fan of college athletics and college athletes because of the sacrifices and the time commitment that they have to make, not just in the classroom but in the community. There's a lot of people pulling at these young people. Then you have the element of expectations by whether it's their parents and others, the pressure is tremendous. So anything we can relieve, if we can relieve some of that pressure by spreading, making sure their summer school is funded, making sure the academics, mentors, all those pieces are in place. We all know that each institution is different. But I don't think, like Ernie said, I met a coach that didn't want his players to be successful and get a degree and get an education. JIM HANEY: Well, we thank you for the opportunity to share our thoughts and feelings on these topics. Enjoy what should be a great Final Four. End of FastScripts |
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