LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Another extension this week of the NCAA's ban on recruiting amid the coronavirus pandemic brings even more uncertainty for the high school basketball prospects who would otherwise be traveling the country _ and auditioning for college scholarships _ this spring and summer.
College coaches will remain at home, with old game film their only resources for scouting and phone calls and video chats their only outlets for relationship-building. The high school prospects they're pursuing will _ for the foreseeable future _ have no games to play, no opportunities to expand their college options, no trips to see the schools recruiting them.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches on Tuesday recommended that the NCAA extend its ban on recruiting through at least July 31. The NCAA stopped a step short of that Wednesday _ extending the ban only through the end of June _ but the two bodies have been working in harmony on how to treat recruiting during the coronavirus pandemic since earlier this year, and it's expected that recruiting activities scheduled for July will eventually be wiped out as well.
That would effectively cancel the traditional spring and summer recruiting calendar in its entirety. And though Kentucky will surely land more than its fair share of recruits once things return to some semblance of normalcy, this upheaval will affect exactly who plays for the Wildcats a year or two from now, and it could make things more challenging for coach John Calipari in the short term.
