Jim Delany has his critics, most in the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and a few more with the title of conference commissioners. But no one can say the Big Ten commissioner ducks the issues facing men's basketball.

He says what's on his mind, and even though it's sometimes unpopular, Delany doesn't stay on the fence. He has his opinions and he's not backing down, even if he doesn't have the authority to put into legislation how he would change the sport.

Speaking candidly at the Big Ten media day last Sunday in Chicago, Delany went on a stream of consciousness rant about the need to shake up college basketball.

An outspoken critic of the summer scene, Delany wants to see the structure of the game change with the emphasis on student-athlete, rather than athlete-athlete. He goes as far as saying teams should be prevented from playing in the NCAA Tournament if they continue down a path of poor graduation rates, which he admits aren't calculated fairly, and show no concern for being a true member of intercollegiate athletics, but rather a farm system for the NBA.

"The difference between us, professional basketball, and the corporate sponsored non-scholastic basketball (summer scene) is that we're educational institutions," Delany said. "The more we ignore that and fail to acknowledge that, then that is what really threatens us. It's not whether or not a player or coach leaves."

	“	We need to reassess the incentive system. I can't tell you how it will work, and I know the coaches won't agree, but we've got to find a way to reinforce the incentives. If you recruit a player who has a cup of coffee then there has to be consequences. ”
		— Jim Delany, Big Ten commissioner

Delany said programs should be rewarded for retaining players, for moving them toward graduation. And programs that don't show graduating players as a priority should be penalized.

"We need to reassess the incentive system," Delany said. "I can't tell you how it will work, and I know the coaches won't agree, but we've got to find a way to reinforce the incentives. If you recruit a player who has a cup of coffee then there has to be consequences."

The Knight Commission, a study on intercollegiate athletics, looked at a similar change in the game, but it was scoffed at by a number of coaches who think that college basketball would never see a day when schools with poor graduation rates or grade point averages would be denied entrance to the NCAA Tournament.

Delany said he would like to see a day when a school that performs poorly -- off the court -- would not get money the first year, maybe not be on television the second year, or not allowed to be in the NCAA Tournament the third year of a penalty. CBS, which signed a 10-year, $6 billion contract to televise the NCAA Tournament, would likely have a say in any penalties that would take a few traditional powers off television or out of the tournament.

Delany disagrees that any such pressure would force the NCAA to act differently.

"The better we get and act as to who we are as a brand, the better our product," said Delany, a former captain on North Carolina's basketball team from 1967-70. "The more parity in college basketball, the better we are."

Coaches are aghast at some of Delany's proposals.

"College is about preparing for life and making someone financially stable," TCU coach Billy Tubbs said. "That's what basketball is doing for some, preparing them to go out and make millions of dollars."

Delany is adamantly for the scholarship limitations brought on by the controversial 5/8 or 5/9 rule, which limits schools to five newcomers in a given recruiting class, no more than eight in two seasons -- or nine in two seasons as was being proposed as a modification.

"It's the right direction," Delany said. "There is a lot of movement and transfers and we have to find a way to stabilize that. I don't believe in coaching runoff, but there is mutual parting. But if there is a (5/8) then that makes the coach think about academic risks.

"He can't take five of them, and in the end, he'll get more scholarships to give to players who can graduate," Delany added. "If you start to retain then the reward is there. If you continue to recruit academic casualties then there is a risk. If you have players leave for the NBA and then transfer, then you have less of a pool to work with."

When asked if Delany is worried about the NABC being upset with his stance, he said, "I don't have to convince them, they don't have a vote. They have to convince me. I don't have a vote, but our presidents and faculty do. It's called a chain of command at an institution from the athletic reps, to the faculty reps to the university presidents."

Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said he found the 5/8 rule offensive to coaches. He said it's a way to show that the NCAA doesn't trust the coaches, thinking that they do run players off their teams.

"And then they say we're not supposed to recruit good players or McDonald's all-Americans, just guys who are going to be here for four years," Huggins said. "If you're going to be here four years then you're probably not good. I'm not saying don't recruit four-year guys. But it's not the way it is. It's bad business."

Louisville coach Rick Pitino said the scholarship restrictions, and penalizing programs for players leaving early to the NBA, is a contradiction.

"Everyone wants all the money from college basketball, but then they take away the entertainment factor," Pitino said. "If a young man goes to the NBA then we should clap our hands, slap him on the back and say we're proud of you. They're going to make money and help their family. I'm sure those young men planned on going to college for an education, but they're going to the NBA, and we shouldn't penalize a program for that.

"It's a slap in the face to all of us," Pitino added. "Our job, besides winning and making a good living, is to impact lives of young people, and there's not a coach in this business where that's not the focal point. Every program I've been involved in makes sure their players go to class, run if they don't, and makes sure they overachieve in the classroom and the basketball court. It's insulting. We know what we're about. We want to win at a ferocious pace but the player comes first in the classroom and between the lines."

Is Delany optimistic his views will be a majority? He's somewhere in the middle.

"I haven't seen much change," Delany said. "But I'll keep trying and pointing it out and experiment. Competitive athletics don't like rules changes. There's a comfort level."

Balance the unbalanced Big Ten schedule?
Big Ten coaches were grousing at media day that the imbalanced schedule will unfairly determine the league champion, although it could give a team a chance to get more wins for an NCAA Tournament berth. A number of the coaches were in favor of going to 20 league games, which would mean playing 11 weeks, instead of the nine-week, 16-game league schedule played now. Having a conference tournament plus a 20-game schedule (so everyone plays home and road against each other) would make a conference tournament almost impossible.

"I'm for 20 games," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "The way it is now is too much of an advantage."

Michigan State played Illinois once last season, and the game was in Champaign. The two teams tied for first and were both No. 1 seeds in the conference tournament, even though neither won the Big Ten tournament. This season, Illinois and Iowa are the favorites to win the Big Ten regular-season title. They play once, in Champaign.

"I know it has an affect on the Big Ten title," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "It is an advantage."

"I don't like the schedule," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "I wish there were just 10 schools in the Big Ten (instead of 11). I'm old-school."

If the worst four teams in the Big Ten this season are Northwestern, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan, then Iowa actually got an advantage. The Hawkeyes play Northwestern, Wisconsin and Penn State twice, Michigan once, while Illinois plays Northwestern and Penn State once, Michigan and Wisconsin twice.

"I haven't heard that recommendation about 20 games," Delany said. "For the coaches to support the tournament they wanted 16 games. If they wanted 20 that would be a new position, but coaches are entitled to new positions."

Big Ten football rivalries are protected in the scheduling, but no such favor is done for basketball. Delany said it could occur if the coaches and athletic directors wanted to protect home-and-home series.

"Presidents don't care, the commissioner doesn't care," Delany said. "There are things the presidents care more about than locked in rivalries, they care about academic outcome. Coaches will have a lot more say on locked in rivalries than academics."

	Dan Monson has successfully turned the focus of Minnesota on its future, not the Gophers' tainted past.

Minnesota makeover
OK, so Shane Schilling is gone after being dismissed and him not wanting to stick around for any further discussion. But that doesn't mean the Gophers are going backward.

For the first time in the past three seasons, Dusty Rychart said he's not afraid to show his face on campus. He said the Gophers are suddenly a good sight for students, faculty and fans on campus. He said having two players graduate last season was the perfect elixir for the Gophers to get out from under their cloud of suspicion after the academic cheating scandal.

"Our players have done it the right way the past two years," Minnesota coach Dan Monson said. "We've graduated players and they've gone to class and they worked hard. We went to the NIT second round last year with all our injuries. Now, all the talk isn't on the scandal and the past. This year the talk is about Minnesota basketball and more about the possibilities of this team."

Monson said the backcourt will be a concern and manned by committee without Schilling. Look for Monson to go with 6-foot-3 Kevin Burleson and 6-3 Kerwin Fleming and a frontcourt of Rychart, Mike Bauer and newcomers Rick Rickert and Jerry Holman -- two players who'll need to be more physical to live up to their hype.

"Jerry and Rick could have gone anywhere, but they chose to come home to Minnesota," Monson said. "That took the sign off our backs that said we had a virus. It's like saying, 'It's OK to come here and play.' Our fans can come back now. We've been validated."

Monson doesn't see the Gophers as a Big Ten contender without a steady backcourt, but they've got the talent to be an NCAA Tournament bubble team.

"We've got chemistry and leadership issues and roles need to be defined," Monson said. "It's tough to say we'll contend right now."

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