In case you're unaware, the wheels are starting to turn in regard to the upcoming June 23 NBA draft.
The Portsmouth Invitational begins Wednesday in Virginia, and Marshall standout James Kelly was one of 64 seniors invited. He'll first play at 7 p.m. Thursday in front of NBA representatives. Players like John Stockton, Dennis Rodman, Tim Hardaway and Scottie Pippen were all discovered in the event.
"I'm flying out [Wednesday] afternoon," Kelly said. "I'm just going there to play hard and try to get some NBA teams to notice me."
A few already have. The 6-foot-8 forward or those around him have been contacted by the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers. Kelly said he's friends with one of his teammates for the weekend, Old Dominion's Trey Freeman.
Meanwhile, at WVU, the waiting game continues in regard to Devin Williams, who applied for the draft as a junior. On Monday, I called West Virginia coach Bob Huggins to double check that Williams hadn't hired an agent, which would end the junior's college career.
"My understanding," Huggins said, "is he hasn't to this point."
As long as Williams doesn't hire an agent up to May 25, he's eligible to return to WVU.
Sounds great, right? The NCAA is no longer treating an application to the draft as a forfeiture of remaining eligibility. As of Jan. 13, the organization said it will allow Williams, for instance, to attend the upcoming NBA combine plus one team tryout and, if not satisfied by the feedback, return to Morgantown by that May date.
That's the upbeat part. The flip side is the situation in which Huggins finds himself.
You see, the spring national letter of intent signing period begins Wednesday and extends to May 18. Notice how that doesn't match up to Williams' May 25 deadline?
I asked Huggins how he'd handle the quandary.
"I honestly don't know," he said.
It's certainly a bugger of a predicament. Of course Huggins wants Williams back on his team. He has to understand, though, the forward wishes to try and make a mark. He has to understand Williams wishes all possible feedback.
So what to do?
Well, for one thing, Huggins and fellow coaches should urge the NCAA to take another look at the setup because it simply doesn't make sense.
Here's the deal: The coaches and NCAA felt pressured to make a change because of prior criticism. The old deadline to withdraw from consideration and return was a week after the Final Four and a day before the national letter of intent signing period.
Student-athletes understandably felt rushed, and many made poor decisions. So the coaches and NCAA representatives and NBA representatives met and met some more and came up with the current setup. (WVU, by the way, voted against it.)
The world at large said to heck with the coaches, this is about the student-athletes. And to a degree that's the correct way to look at any college situation.
Here's a question that seems to be forgotten, though: Exactly which student-athletes is this about?
For the players trying to decide on their future, the NCAA has bent over backward to appease. Even the NBA has expanded the combine 20 to 30 percent from the previous 70ish figure of invitees.
That's terrific for those players. Awesome. Any kid that goes through the process should have a crystal-clear picture of his status.
But what of the other student-athletes on WVU's team?
In the Mountaineers' case, one player is taken care of, but the other 12 are forgotten.
If you coach Kentucky or Kansas, what the heck, right? Lose an All-America player and another comes off the bench. No sweat.
But for the majority of teams, a hole on a 13-scholarship roster is a big deal - especially one left by a player like Williams.
Think about it. Maybe a coach like Huggins could use the opening to go out and, hey, find a better player to replace Williams. Perhaps in this crazy-go-nuts era of tranferring, Williams' decision affects a decision for another Mountaineer to go or stay.
The setup just doesn't make much sense. Consider if WVU has a big season in 2016-17 and, let's say, for the sake of argument, Jevon Carter, Daxter Miles and Elijah Macon go through the process next year at this time. What does the coach do then?
Sure, he can sit down and talk to the players. Sure, he can talk to those in the NBA and make an educated guess on what will happen. But these are kids we're discussing. (If you're older, consider how much of a know-it-all and stubborn you were at 21 or 22 years old.)
What's the fix? Well, this year for instance, extend the signing period to May 26. That's a no-brainer.
And, next time, maybe, just maybe, the NCAA should consider all involved.