Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Ruling on foreign Predrag Savovic had his left ankle taped after rolling it on a teammate's foot during yesterday's practice.
players expected soon
UH basketball standout Savovic
tries not to worry about pending decisionBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comMindaugas Burneika's left foot was in a walking boot, a preventive measure after straining his ankle last week.
Phil Martin held an ice pack to his head after taking an inadvertent elbow jab above his right eye.
The red foam pad held by Hawaii associate head coach Bob Nash was the only thing keeping Luc-Arthur Vebobe from further bruises during a pick-and-roll drill.
These are the normal aches of the college basketball season.
But the biggest pain right now for some 300 returning foreign athletes -- including the Rainbows' Savovic and Vebobe -- is mental. They are playing a waiting game as the NCAA Division I Management Council considers penalizing foreign players for competing among professionals.
"Of course, it is in my mind,'' said Savovic, a senior guard from Yugoslavia. "It is taking too long for the decision.
"But I don't worry about it. I don't expect to miss any games.''
The decision could come as early as today. The Council was to finish its meetings in Indianapolis after considering, among other proposals, a three-point plan devised by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to preserve the eligibility of the foreign athletes.
The NABC wants all foreign athletes to not be penalized for breaking the long-standing -- but previously ignored -- rule the NCAA is now trying to enforce. The NCAA penalty basically calls for players to be hit with a game-for-game suspension if they played among professionals -- as happened to Hawaii's Haim Shimonovich, who sat out 22 games last season.
If there is to be a penalty, the NABC has proposed a 20 percent sanction based on the paperwork submitted by the schools to the NCAA. Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said if that proposal is accepted, Savovic would have a maximum penalty of eight games and Vebobe, a junior forward from France, around two.
"Our position is there should be no penalties for Savo,'' Wallace said yesterday. "He didn't have a contract. He didn't know who was paid or not. Knowing Savo, I believe it because he's not into anyone else's business.''
However, new documents received by Wallace yesterday could mean a penalty for Vebobe. The 6-foot-9 transfer from Foothill (Calif.) College played in 11 games in a European pro 'A' summer league.
"If it's an unjust ruling, we'll appeal,'' said Wallace. "I don't know if Savo would accept eight games. He'd fight it.
"In order to appeal, you have to have grounds for it, show new information that would change things. Then you'd have to apply for the players to be reinstated by the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee.''
Wallace and basketball coaches at 59 other Division I schools hope it doesn't go that far. What the NABC is asking for is fairness and some changes.
The coaches' association wants to change the term "pro'' so that it applies to a player who receives money instead of players who just play with professionals. A number of players are being scrutinized because they were on a lower division club team that had a pro dropped down to their level.
Wallace is also among the NABC coaches who backed a foreign eligibility clearinghouse, like the current clearinghouse used to determine initial student-athlete eligibility.
The amount of paperwork has bogged down the process. College basketball practice began 10 days ago.
And the NABC wants the issue to be postponed until the NCAA general membership meeting next year.
"There is a long term and a short term approach to this," NABC associate director Reggie Minton told ESPN.com. "Hopefully we'll get a moratorium for this season and we can rethink this thing.
"We've got players who have been playing here for years and now they're saying they can't play? Legislation is a long-term solution. The short-term relief is a moratorium."
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
