This summer, the subject and concept of Elite Camps run by college basketball programs has finally reached the ear of the mainstream. While many other college sports, including football, have been running similar camps for years, the Elite Camp model is relatively new to college basketball. Some basketball programs have been running Elite Camps for several years now, and some have just been getting theirs up and running of late. Here is how it works: any school can hold a camp where it can instruct and train prospective athletes as long as it is open to anyone, and as long as the prospective athlete pays his or her own expenses and travel. These camps are usually for 9th to 12th graders and can last anywhere from one day to three days. Here some language included in the information posted on a website for one prominent basketball program's Elite Camp:

"Elite Camp is for high school players that are serious about improving their basketball skills. Intense, position specific instruction will be provided by experienced coaches and players. Athletes should be in good physical condition and be prepared for a college level experience. Post players and guards will be drilled on fundamentals of their positions. Campers will learn what to expect from the college recruiting process, along with what athletic and academic characteristics coaches look for in a prospect."

In other words, if a school wants to bring some recruiting targets to its campus, spend time with them, work them out and teach them, and show them the campus and all of its amenities, a really good way to do it is to have an Elite Camp. It is permissible under NCAA rules, and the coaching staff gets to stay home and have the interested recruits come to them. In addition, the coaches and recruits can really get to know each other, so better decisions can be made by both parties. The Elite Camps can be staffed by current staff members of the school, and former players are often brought in as speakers, clinicians and demonstrators. It is a good idea, and a great way for any recruit to get to know the coach he may want to someday play for.

If you have any knowledge of the history of college basketball and the rules it is governed by, then you know that if you are doing something that is a good idea and works, there is a pretty good chance that the NCAA will ban it at some point. Elite Camps have been the subject of some discussion this summer, and some commentators have been skeptical of the process. Are Elite Camps designed to get prospects on campus for the equivalent of unofficial visits? You bet they are. Coaches want to get any advantage in recruiting, and an Elite Camp is a way to gain an advantage and set their programs apart. Do some programs skirt the rules or the spirit of the rules with the manner in which they run their Elite Camps? Maybe a couple of programs do, here and there. But, as a whole, the process is above board and handled well.

Although the camp is supposed to be open to anyone, some may notify only the recruits they are interested in about the camp, then only post an advertisement on the Internet right before the camp is about to start. That provides the required notice and the illusion that it was open to everyone, even though few will see it except for those that had prior knowledge of the camp. That's OK with the coaches, because this is not about making money, it is about getting to know targeted recruits. Also, some programs will bring in the summer coach of a prospect to speak or do a clinic and pay him a healthy sum. Is that a good practice? Probably not, but programs have been able to do that for years. Before the Elite Camp concept hit college basketball, a program could bring a summer coach in to speak at a clinic and pay him, and can still make contributions to nonprofit summer programs. It happens, like it or not, with or without the Elite Camps.

Like everything else, a good thing can be made to look bad with a few isolated stories or anecdotes. Overall, the Elite Camp concept is a good one, and it works very well. Here is the bottom line to me: the vast majority of college coaches are positive influences on young players. Instead of restricting access to these young people, the access should be increased. When access to recruits is restricted, a less positive influence usually steps into that void. The NCAA could do itself and the game a favor by allowing these Elite Camps to remain without banning them. College coaches are good for the game, and good for kids. They need more access to young kids, not less.