Iowa's Fran McCaffery: Key to NBA draft rule 'to be as transparent as possible'

ROSEMONT, Ill. — One by one, Big Ten men's basketball coaches walked down the staircase at the league headquarters and they all had a story to share.

Most of the coaches who spoke have similar ongoing experiences with underclassmen half-stepping toward the NBA. That includes Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery with guard Peter Jok, Purdue Coach Matt Painter (forwards Caleb Swanigan and Vincent Edwards) and Nebraska Coach Tim Miles (combo guard Andrew White). Each of the coaches praised a new process that allows players to declare for the NBA draft, work out for teams and not lose their eligibility, provided the athletes remain without an agent and withdraw from the draft by May 25.

Take McCaffery with Jok, who just finished his junior season. Jok, who stands 6-foot-6, finished eighth in Big Ten scoring at 16.1 points per game and is one of the nation's best perimeter shooters. Jok declared for the NBA draft last month but didn't hire an agent. He has had one NBA workout so far.

McCaffery has spoken with NBA teams as well. He regularly communicates with Jok, whom he expects to make a decision near the deadline. Ultimately, the final decision rests with Jok.

'I think you have to be as transparent as possible in terms of what benefits him,' McCaffery said Tuesday at Big Ten meetings. 'I don't want him to think for one second that I only want him to stay. Sure I want Peter Jok on my team. Of course I do. Everybody knows that. But I want him to be in the best possible position he can be for his future. I told him that when I recruited him, and I don't want to change it now.

'So if it's in his best interest to go, he should go. If it's in his best interest to stay, then he should stay. That decision will be made based on the information that he has. He'll make it, along with his brother and his guardian. I won't be a part of that decision. But I'll be part of the information process.'

Miles' approach with White is similar. White, a 6-foot-7 junior, scored 16.6 points a game last year, his first season at Nebraska after transferring from Kansas. Miles acknowledged the uncertainty is challenging for coaches, but the feedback is critical for White to make an informed decision.

'The timing of the rule is difficult for the team and the program and the kids still in the program,' Miles said. 'But it's great for the young people who get to test the waters. They get feedback. They get a different level of competition. I think they get a more global view of what the bigger picture is and what the next level looks like for them. So it will help them if they come back. Everybody's concerned that a kid might go that ends up undrafted, and you've wasted a great opportunity of collegiate basketball.'

Swanigan, a 6-9, 250-pound freshman, led the Big Ten in rebounding last year. Unlike Jok or White, Swanigan participated at last week's scouting combine. Swanigan's well-being is more important to Painter than how he impacts the team's roster this fall.

'It's nothing different from somebody graduating or somebody getting injured,' Painter said.

With 117 underclassmen declaring for the NBA draft (and only 60 selections in two rounds), most players will go unselected and more than half weren't invited to last week's combine. Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo, whose freshman center Deyonta Davis (7.5 points, 5.5 rebounds) declared for the draft and has signed with an agent, said the new process has its flaws.

• MORE: Underclassmen say new draft process is helpful

'It's almost the cool thing to go to the combine,' Izzo said. 'OK, then it's the cool thing to just put your name in. You put your name in and you don't even get invited to the combine, I think that's demoralizing. I think that hurts you.

'I don't think it's healthy for a kid to put his name in when he has no chance. Some of the kids it hurts because then they go there and people see their warts because they're not ready and that might hurt them next year.'

Overall, McCaffery sees the rule change having value, even if it means he could lose his best returning player.

'Are there some players who might be delusional in terms of what their prospects are?' McCaffery asked. 'Probably. But I think that's a small numbers. I think most guys are good players, they put their names in, they get some feedback and make a decision.'

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