What's the goal?

Latest score raises issue about academic priorities

On Maryland men's basketball

The intention here isn't to totally dismiss Williams' defense. His reasoning speaks to the complexity of the challenges men's basketball coaches face. In fact, the average APR score among men's teams is 918, well below the cut score. There's something wrong with the entire culture surrounding the men's game right now.

The NCAA realizes this, which is why it convened a special task force to study the problems dragging down men's basketball graduation rates. The 27-member panel includes everyone from Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim to Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive and Yow. The group is expected to forward recommendations to the Division I Board of Directors by the end of the year. Anything is possible, from expanding summer-school opportunities to tinkering with practice times to adding a year of "academic readiness" that could allow some players to spend time in the classroom before their eligibility starts ticking away.

Maryland associate AD Anton Goff says the key is piling up credit hours early in a player's career so that by time he's a senior he "can see the light at the end of tunnel, and they'll want to graduate rather than just leave early for a professional career." Maryland also tries to recruit former players back to school. Keith Gatlin, who left school in 1988, graduated in December with a bachelor's in African-American studies.

It'd be great if every player saw the need to return to school, but that's a seed that needs to be planted early. The culture of the college game might encourage players to leave school, but the culture around a specific program could encourage them to come back. Or to simply finish on time (something seniors James Gist and Bambale Osby are expected to do later this month).

Williams can't change the landscape alone, and that's OK because he doesn't have to. He has enough problems in his backyard. Selling recruits on a pro basketball career and continually justifying your low graduation scores is all part of a culture that de-emphasizes degrees. Until the Terps have a roster full of lottery picks, all capable of bolting after their junior seasons, Williams cannot rationalize such low graduation rates. Not while other programs do such a better job.

Call me alarmist, call me an elitist, call me an obscenity. We should still subscribe to the crazy notion that the basketball team is a part of the university. As complex as the challenges might be and confusing as the numbers might seem, it all really boils down to this: Graduating players is important. Or it's not.

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