NCAA proposes allowing NBA Draft declarers to return to school

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Currently, if you officially declare for the NBA Draft, your days of playing college basketball are over.

But the NCAA could change that.

Detailed in a Wednesday report from ESPN's Andy Katz, the NCAA is considering a proposal to allow players who declare early for the NBA Draft as underclassmen to return to school after initially throwing their hat into the NBA ring.

The rule change would allow players who declare for the draft to attend the NBA Draft Combine in May, gather feedback from NBA teams and then decide if they want to pursue an NBA career or return to the college ranks. The NCAA's date for players to withdraw from the draft would therefore be moved from its current place immediately following the Final Four to mid-May. However, players would not be allowed to return to school after hiring an agent.

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The NCAA men's basketball oversight committee sponsored the proposal Wednesday, but a decision won't come until January. Though if adopted it would be in place for the 2016 NBA Draft. The proposal was created by the NCAA, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the NBA.

"This is a positive development for student-athletes exploring their professional dreams," Dan Gavitt, NCAA vice president of men's basketball, said, quoted in the ESPN report. "This would give prospects and their families more appropriate time and unbiased info from the NBA to make important decisions. And it would probably lead some to go back to school."

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