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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

A Grip on Sports: Times, and rules, change, which makes college basketball’s springtime much more interesting

A GRIP ON SPORTS • College basketball’s offseason, as short as it actually is, has changed markedly the past few years. The ability of players to market themselves to prospective sponsors and to prospective schools has made spring a season of uncertainty for everyone connected to the sport.

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• No one is immune. Not even in the Inland Northwest.

From Pullman to Spokane, from Cheney to Moscow, the roster a school ends a season with is no longer etched in stone. It’s written in sand, with wave after wave forcing coaching staffs to rewrite their lists over and over. It’s almost as if they should use an Etch-a-Sketch instead of an iPad.

The tides have changed. Players have more control and they are exercising it. It’s a process that began a few years back when the NCAA, seeing how many star (and not-so-overwhelming) players were headed off to the pro ranks each year, modified its rules to allow them to explore their options and then return to school. Deadlines were set up, rules established.

The top-end schools were hit pretty hard but everyone else went along with their offseason business basically untouched. The grumbling was minimal.

Then came the idea to reward athletes who accomplished what they came on campus for: get a degree. If they had eligibility left by the time they graduated, why not let them transfer and play while earning a post-graduate degree? It seemed – and is – fair.

But it also opened a door. Soon there was a whole marketplace for graduate transfers. And the schools untouched by pro losses were dealing with their most experienced players heading out the door – yet still playing in college. There was more grumbling from coaches.

It would only get louder as the NCAA, facing anti-trust issues, loosened transfer rules, granting exceptions to the one-year wait requirement. Soon everyone and their sister were getting exemptions. The grumbling among coaches grew louder. The powers that be – actually the schools themselves as they run the organization – threw up their hands and let everyone transfer once for free.

The pandemic played a role in the liberalization but the die had been cast long ago. Such change was a gamble that didn’t help in federal court – the NCAA is on a Washington Generals-like losing streak in that venue – and, when paired with state-inspired decimation of name, image and likeness limits, opened floodgates.

Schools have to deal with rosters torn by NBA aspirations as well as a free-agent-like frenzy fueled by the opportunity for more playing time or more money. All within spring, a time that not long ago was reserved for recruiting high school or junior college players.

Smart coaches realize it is part of the game. College basketball changes, on the court, possession by possession. Adjusting is crucial to success. Now that same attitude has to apply to off the court as well. And will for the foreseeable future.

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WSU: Wonder why we spent the time this morning rehashing the most recent evolution of college recruiting? It was motivated by this story from Colton Clark. Mouhamed Gueye is back at Washington State. And is professing his undying love to the university. Some may scoff but they miss the point. Roster management is now a game with new rules and new ethics. Don’t let it bother you when a player uses them to his or her advantage. Accept it is part of the game and rejoice when players see their best option is the one you wanted them to see. Or drown your sorrows when the decision goes another direction. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college sports, non-conference basketball scheduling has been part of offseason roulette for decades. As Jon Wilner writes in the Mercury News, now it’s even more important for the conference. And the league office has rules. … The Pac-12 has just one team in the college World Series (Stanford). But it is the home for baseball’s pitcher of the year (Oregon State’s Cooper Hjerpe). … The Beavers are still trying to come to grips with not getting to Omaha. … Former Washington State basketball coach Ernie Kent is one of five inductees this year into Oregon’s athletic Hall of Fame. … Arizona did some monster football recruiting. … USC hopes a new NIL project will help with that down the road. … We mentioned Arizona State’s academic success yesterday. It means more money for coaches and adminstrators.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, former Washington State receiver Kassidy Woods is doing big things off the field for Colorado State. … Montana State has attracted a transfer receiver.

Preps: Dave Nichols continues his award stories, today with the small school teams. The best in the past year? That would be the Liberty boys basketball team and the St. George’s girls track team.

Indians: Being home agrees with the Spokane pitching staff. It had another stellar effort in a shutout win over Hillsboro. Dave has the coverage.

Seahawks: Raw ability can take a cornerback only so far. … The offense wants to maximize DK Metcalf’s talent.

Mariners: Love potent offense? Then look elsewhere. It doesn’t live in Seattle. Not right now. The M’s lost 5-0 to Minnesota and lost another home series because of it. The good news? Starting pitching has been exceptional.

NHL: The first game of the finals went to overtime. And then Colorado put away the visiting Lightning.

NBA: The Celtics can be their own worst opponent. Which isn’t what you want in the finals.

Golf: The U.S. Open started this morning. Brooks Koepka hopes to win again.

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• One of the hidden joys of watching the U.S. Open tournament occurs pretty often. Exceptional golfers, the best in the world, miss the fairway by just a little bit and their ball disappears. They have to spend time looking for it. Similar to what happens to us routinely, though we may be 50 yards from the fairway as opposed to their miss of, you know, 2 feet. Until later …