Font ResizeRaul Delgado felt the eyes watching him.
Coaches from colleges he has dreamed of playing for were there, ready to be impressed. Delgado knew what a good performance in front of those coaches could do for his future.
Unfortunately for Delgado, his team, Utah Pump-N-Run, received a quick exit from the "It Takes 5ive Classic" tournament earlier this month in Cincinnati, finishing with a 1-2 record.
For Delgado, that meant one thing: he had to have a better performance during the rest of July.
"It was pressure to see the field of coaches there. That's what I worry about; college coaches are watching me and I'm supposed to work. They just have to know I can play basketball," said Delgado, who will be a senior point guard at Springville in the fall.
"Sometimes, I get scared. Like everyone, we have bad games and super good games. It makes you kind of nervous."
Although Delgado has his entire senior season ahead of him, the window of time to impress college coaches with the key to a scholarship is getting smaller.
In April 2008, the NCAA opted to get rid of the spring "live" evaluating period, prohibiting college coaches from attending non-scholastic events in April. The measure took effect last August.
College coaches can still recruit during this time. They just can't go to big AAU tournaments to watch multiple players play against top-notch competition.
Tough decisions
The rule has made an impact on almost every college basketball program across the country. Furthermore, it effects those athletes in the class of 2010 who are on the cusp of being a Division I player and just need a chance to prove it, players such as Delgado.
"It hurts the kids who are right there in the lower mid-major program level and in Utah, that's a majority of them," said Todd Phillips, Delgado's coach on the Pump-N-Run team and an assistant coach at Salt Lake Community College. "This month is crucial, no question. It's time to get on the radar and make an impression as they go through the high school period."
The NCAA, however, said that the rule was instituted to prevent potential recruits from missing a lot of time at school to attend non-scholastic events, citing that one of the proposal's early supporters was the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
The rule is intended to address "the disruption to the relationship between NCAA Division I basketball coaches and their own student-athletes during a critical academic time period and the increasing role of outside influences during the April contact period," Cameron Schuh, an NCAA associate director for public and media relations, wrote in an email. "While it is obvious that some coaches are not in favor of the rules, that is not uncommon, but it shouldn't cloud the fact that these changes were initiated and supported by the same people heavily involved in the basketball community, including the coaches association."
The rule also puts coaches at a disadvantage. Coaches now scramble in July and September to travel to AAU tournaments. After that, their only other opportunities come during the season, which forces them to make difficult decisions on the time they have to spend away from their teams.
Utah assistant coach Jeff Smith said that the Utes' staff adjusted by evaluating more during the high school season, but that it was far from an easy balancing act.
"We should be spending time with our players and making sure that they're taken care of on campus," Smith said.
Despite the strains the rule puts on college coaches and potential Division I recruits, it could heavily benefit local players. With coaches having less time to travel to AAU tournaments, several will probably be more inclined to recruit the area high schools more heavily.
"I think that that's probably some of the intent of the NCAA, that they want coaches to spend more time recruiting out of the high schools," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "The AAU programs have kind of controlled a lot of the recruiting, which is not a bad thing, but I do think that the NCAA wants to put some more focus back on the recruiting with a high school coach in a high school setting. I think [the rule] will help do that."
There are a couple remaining significant AAU tournaments in July that Utah players can make a splash at. There's the adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas, one of the nation's premier summer basketball events in the open evaluation period, and there's the Best of the Summer Tournament in California. For some Utah players heading into their senior year, these tournaments could be the last chance to make an impact.
A crucial time
Adapting to new recruiting rules isn't an unfamiliar task for college, AAU and high school coaches. The coaches involved make the adjustments, but this rule creates a unique dilemma for the upcoming class of 2010.
"The kids [in this class] have to play catch up," said Salt Lake Metro coach Dave Hammer said. "Everybody is scrambling, trying to figure out who kids are, evaluation-wise. It puts pressure on the kid because if you didn't play well in April, you have another chance in July. Now July is the only chance."
Delgado knows this is the time to prove that he can play at the next level. He feels the pressure. He feels the weight on his shoulders.
But he will put all that aside in order to get a shot at his dream.
"You can't focus on that because it will make you scared in the game," Delgado said. "I know there are talented people all over the country. My goal is to be a college player. I have to do what I can."
