One of the most prominent figures in college basketball, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, is calling for change amid the ongoing FBI investigation into corruption.
While speaking to reporters, Coach K discussed the current environment and shared his thoughts on what the NCAA should do differently.
Specifically, Krzyzewski says the recruiting process has been calling for help for a long time.
“It’s a horrible time for the game, but the game has begged, it’s been on its knees begging for change for years, and sometimes unless something horrible happens, you just don’t change,” Krzyzewski told reporters, via the Duke Chronicle.
“We need change. We need to take a look at amateurism and define it probably differently. We have to look at it through the prism of a 16-year-old kid and a family, and what they should be allowed and make sure it’s the same things that are allowed to other NCAA athletes or maybe do something that would be ahead of the game and become more modern in what we’re doing.”
A big part of the corruption stems from agents trying to get an inside track at landing the top players before they officially enter the NBA Draft.
Because that is a known problem, Coach K is open to the possibility of finding a way for players and agents to have discussions before a draft decision without impacting their status as an amateur or triggering any NCAA violations.
“I don’t know how much longer I’m going to coach, but it might be for these guys when they go into a home, there’s an agent there, which may not be bad because at least they would be getting expert advice that they chose,” Krzyzewski said. “They wouldn’t have to go around and say, ‘I know this guy, I know this.’ And maybe there’s a way of checking their credentials so the NCAA could provide guidance to freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, and agents would have to register, and you would have their profiles so you could—things like that.
“Let’s just get ahead of the game. Most of this stuff is because of what happens before they get here. That’s the area that we should do, and then once they get here, we will then change that environment based on what we’ve changed here. That’s what I hope will happen.”
Krzyzewski has definitely thought about the issue for a long time, so what do you think of his comments? Sound off in the comments section below to share your opinion.
[H/T: The Spun]
Mike Krzyzewski: NCAA Basketball Needs To Change
