by By ROB SCHULTZ The Capital Times rschultz@madison.com , Wisconsin State Journal

But while the coaches agreed it will help clean up a notoriously problematic part of the game, some expressed concern over one portion of the package of legislation that may limit who they can hire to help for their camps and clinics.

University of Wisconsin men's basketball coach Bo Ryan said limiting helpers to students or campus employees, as the legislation suggests, would force coaches to reduce who could attend the camps.

"We couldn't let the kids come to camp because there wouldn't be enough people to coach at camp," said Ryan, who, as a board member of the National Basketball Association of Coaches, is a watchdog for coaches' rights.

But Ryan said some camps need to be watched because coaches of prospective recruits are sometimes given too much money to attend. That gives the college coaches of those camps an unfair advantage.

Whenever a coach of a prospective recruit tells Ryan he needs to hire him for his camp, Ryan said he tells that coach, "I will hire you when you don't have a player and then I'll pay you a couple hundred dollars like I pay everybody else."

As for the rest of the approved legislation, ESPN reported that, effective immediately, coaches have been forbidden to make payments to nonprofit groups created by people associated with recruits or use 1-900 telephone numbers for recruiting purposes. Coaches found in violation could be suspended from regular-season or NCAA tournament games.

Staying home

Michigan State was picked as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference regular-season title because its has three strong returning starters, including junior guard Kalin Lucas , the preseason player of the year.

But the Spartans will be tested because most of the top Big Ten players returned, too. That includes the four other members of the preseason All-Big Ten team: Ohio State junior guard Evan Turner , Penn State junior guard Talor Battle , Purdue junior forward Robbie Hummel and Michigan junior guard Manny Harris.

"I hope our fans enjoy these guys because a lot of them are ... being here for the right reason, winning a championship, getting closer to your degree," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said.

In the paint

Ohio State coach Thad Matta said Turner will play point guard this season. That's not a surprise since he took over that position in the closing minutes of every one of the Buckeyes' late-season victories last year. ... Indiana coach Tom Crean said the Hoosiers are still having some tough days as they adapt to his system. He mentioned they drew his ire by dribbling too much in a recent practice. So he banned dribbling. "We took the dribble away because we were a dribbling-abusive team at that point," Crean said. ... Michigan is being touted as a possible front-runner this season but coach John Beilein didn't want to talk about it. "We're still hunting. We haven't done anything yet," he said. ... Ryan, a native of Chester, Pa., made a World Series prediction: The Philadelphia Phillies over the New York Yankees in five games. ... Minnesota coach Tubby Smith didn't attend the media day because of the death of his father.

Copyright 2009 Madison Newspapers, Inc. All Rights Reserved
	Terms & Conditions     Privacy Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.