The NCAA has barred college coaches from in-person evaluations at multiple prominent prep schools, Yahoo! Sports reported Saturday morning.
According to the report, Huntington Prep (W.Va.) and Findlay Prep (Nev.) are both off-limits to coaches. Prime Prep (Tex.) is also mentioned, but it's not clear in the report whether they are on the list, too.
Huntington and Findlay have both been classified as “non-scholastic,” which means coaches can't evaluate their players at practices and workouts. As of last December, coaches are only allowed to evaluate “non-scholastic” prospects at games.
Here's an excerpt from the NCAA directive to college coaches, obtained by Yahoo:
"A team that is affiliated with a scholastic institution, but not subject to the rules and regulations of a scholastic governing body would be considered a nonscholastic team for purposes of applying the evaluation legislation set forth in Bylaw 13.1.7.8.1-(a). … At this time, the AMA staff has been presented fact situations involving two teams, Findlay Prep and Huntington Prep, and has determined that based on the facts presented and the above mentioned legislation and interpretation, both of those teams would be considered nonscholastic teams …"
Over the past several years, both Huntington and Findlay have produced dozens of college prospects – including Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett. Wiggins was the No. 1 player in the class of 2013 and attended Huntington, while Bennett was the No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft and attended Findlay.
This year is no different. Huntington has three high-major commits, as well as former Louisville commit Jaquan Lyle and a couple of elite juniors. Findlay is home to five-star wings Rashad Vaughn and Kelly Oubre, along with Arizona pledge Craig Victor.
The basketball recruiting and evaluation period began on September 9.
