UIL vote leaves Texas basketball at disadvantage

[KFDM COOP]

UIL vote leaves Texas basketball at disadvantage

Best of Bob West column for Friday, May 11, 2007

The Port Arthur News

Editor’s note: The following column from the Best of West collection was originally published in the Port Arthur News on May 13, 1979.

Inflation may be soaring and the price of gasoline may be spinning out of sight, but in Texas, by God, it’s comforting to know we still have the good, old University Interscholastic league to protect us from the ravages of the modern world.

Yes, sir, as long as there’s a Bailey Marshall and high school superintendents and principals capable of being influenced by football coaches, we are absolutely safe from our schoolboy basketball programs ever leaving the dark ages.

The UIL reassured us last week, through a vote of member superintendents and principals, that our basketball-playing youngsters are still safe from those greedy college coaches. By the overwhelming vote of 670-259, they promised us basketball in Texas would never be a threat to football. And, baby, that’s what it’s all about.

Any high school basketball player who dares defy the UIL and attends a summer basketball camp automatically forfeits his eligibility to compete in that sport at his school the following year. It’s a severe price to pay, for sure, and a sacrifice no player could reasonably be expected to make.

The rule, however, is a blatant abridgment of personal freedom, so blatant in fact it doesn’t carry a snowball’s chance in hell of standing up in court. Unfortunately, not many families can afford the legal fees to mount a challenge. If they could, the UIL would either go out of business or make a rapid reversal.

There is no question how the issue would be disposed of in a courtroom, because U.S. District Judge Finis Cowan made a ruling in Houston last summer. Cowan handed down a temporary restraining order forbidding the UIL from penalizing Houstonian Greg Kite for attending a summer camp.

Since Kite was the only player involved in the challenge, Cowan’s ruling applied just to him and did not strike down the UIL policy. Cowan did say, though, he expected changes to be made so the issue would not again have to be considered in a courtroom.

The UIL responded by doing exactly what you’d expect of such an autocratic body. It appealed the ruling.

Losers because of the UIL’s refusal to accept the inevitable are high school basketball players who’d like to better themselves. They must accept the hypocrisy of a ruling body that permits cheerleader camps, band camps, summer league baseball and tennis and golf instruction from paid professionals.

If you don’t think the UIL is holding back the caliber of schoolboy basketball in Texas, consider a statistic produced by Houston Rockets’ publicity director Jim Foley. Through exhaustive research, Foley uncovered the fact Texas is 19th in the nation at producing NBA talent.

There was a grand total of four former Texas schoolboys — Dwight Jones, Robert Reid, Ira Terrell and Tate Armstrong — on NBA rosters when the regular season concluded. None of the four are starters and only Reid probably ever will be.

By contract, there are 37 Californians in the NBA, 32 New Yorkers, 20 Illinois natives, 19 Pennsylvanians, 16 former Michigan schoolboys and 15 from Indiana. Even Missouri and Tennessee, states which don’t compare with Texas population wise, have five athletes in the NBA.

To all but the University Interscholastic League, and the football coaches who see basketball as a threat to drain away players, the message should be painfully clear. Texas is as far behind in basketball as it is in teacher salaries. And a lot of people are working awfully hard to preserve the status quo.

[AggiesAreWe]

what about Perkins from Ozen??? isn't he playing for the Celtics or something like that???

but back to the point that is so messed up... i would have to agree that Football is the main high school sport in Texas but Basketball and Baseball are also extremely popular... its wrong that they prevent kids from attending summer camps...

Maybe you need to read that article more carefully. That article was written back in 1979, part of Bob West's old archives. The rule has changed since then, you are now allowed to attend summer camps. I don't think Perkins was even born yet in 1979. lol

[yepyep]

I was reading the article without reading the editors note above, thinking something is not right here.  Its a good article.  Texas has come a long way since 1979.  What's sad is, for the most part,  Texas universities have not reaped the benefit of the improving basketball talent in the state.  I listed below high profile players from Texas that went out of state to play.

90’s

Shaquille O’Neal (LSU)

Jimmy King (Michigan)

Ray Jackson (Michigan)

Thomas Hill (Duke)

Ansu Seasay (Miss.)

Larry Johnson (UNLV)

Kenny Thomas (New Mexico)

LaBradford Smith (Louisville)

Andre Patterson (Indiana)

Maceo Batson (Michigan)

Kenyon Martin (Cincy)

2000’s

Jawan McClellan (Arizona)

Ike Diogu (Arizona St.)

Emeka Okafor (UCONN)

Jake Voskhul (UCONN)

Von Wafer (FSU)

Chris Bosh (Ga Tech)

Jeremis Smith (Ga Tech)

Deron Williams (Illinois)

Bracey Wright (Indiana)

Darell Arthur (Kansas)

Daniel Horton (Michigan)

Daniel Ewing (Duke)

John Lucas III (Okla St.)

Glendon Alexander (Okla St.)

Jason Maxiell (Cincy)

Cartier Martin (K State)

Pros

Kendrick Perkins (signed with Memphis)

C.J. Myles

Stephen Jackson

Gerald Green

Ndubi Ebi (signed with Arizona)

Rashard Lewis

[Guest ECBucFan]

Nothing at all against Bob West (I agree with 90% of what he writes overall), but don't take alarmist sports (or news) editorials seriously. "THE SKY IS FALLING" is a way to get readers interest, and sell papers. Things are just fine, with or without summer camps. Chill. 

[Master T]

BASKETBALL HAS BECOME ONE OF THE BIGGEST SPORT IN TEXAS NOW THEY SHOULDNT HAVE TO DO THAT