By
Connor Doyle
Class warfare - it's a tag that's usually only used in the beltway of Washington politics. It's a term used to describe the pitting of the poor against the rich, the lower classes vs. the elite.
However, class warfare is being fought in arenas other than the capitol - it's also playing out in the world of college basketball.
The elite programs in the country, like Duke, Michigan State, Cincinnati and Arizona, are being punished for being the programs that bring in the top recruits in the country. A new piece of NCAA legislation, known as the "5-8" rule, has told these programs that they should not look to recruit the top players in high school, because it could mean that their program will be crippled one or two seasons down the road.
The "5-8" rule states that a program cannot give more than five scholarships in one year, and no more than eight in two years. This means that a program like UA's, which has five seniors and four underclassmen departing the team, cannot replace them with more than five scholarship players. This leaves the Wildcats with nine scholarship players next season - not even enough to run a full five-on-five scrimmage in practice. UA is not the only team facing this situation.
Any team with a few departing underclassmen along with its seniors is finding that the new NCAA policy is crippling their team as well.
The NCAA has said the rule was to help prevent early entrants and transfers, but the truth is that the governing body is punishing Lute Olson, Tom Izzo and the coaches of the other elite programs in the country for recruiting the top players. Furthermore, these coaches are being told that they shouldn't teach these kids to be better players, just in case they develop into ones who want to leave early for the draft.
The entire policy reeks of "down with the big guy." The NCAA has yet to explain to anyone why a program should be punished for the decisions of its players. It would be one thing if Olson were running players out of Tucson like a factory, but that's not the case. He just had the foresight to recruit four players who would be among the best in the country. And now he's paying the price.
Some proponents of the rule claim it's in the best interests of college basketball. This will lead to more parity, because the top programs can't stockpile the best talent, and many of the players that used to go to Duke will now filter down to smaller programs. It's a nice thought, but that's not what's going to happen. The truth is that many of the top high school players, who were eyeing the draft before, will be further compelled to skip college altogether. Many times, the only reason that the top high-schoolers come to college at all is to play at schools like Duke, Arizona and Michigan State. They would likely be more willing to take their chances with the draft than play at NC State.
The "5-8" rule is another example of how out-of-touch the NCAA is. It is, without a doubt, the Clint Eastwood of all sports governing bodies - kill first, ask questions later. Every time they pass another piece of legislation, they ensure that the number of players leaving college early or not coming at all increases.
