UCLA got rid of Alford yet Faces Possible NCAA Tournament Ban because of Low APR Scores

[Franisdaman]

Incredible. Alford recruited kids who performed poorly not only on the court but in the classroom.


UCLA in danger of NCAA Tournament ban over APR scores

Steve DelVecchio
Larry Brown Sports
May 14, 2019

The UCLA men’s basketball program is desperate to get back on track under new head coach Mick Cronin, but that will be awfully difficult to do if the team is banned from the NCAA Tournament in future seasons.

According to Jon Wilner of the Bay Area News Group, the latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores that were released by the NCAA last week show that UCLA is dangerously close to being below the 930-point threshold, which would trigger a postseason ban. UCLA’s latest score was the worst in the Pac-12 at 933. If the multi-year score that is released next spring dips below 930, the Bruins would be ruled ineligible for the NCAA Tournament in 2021.

“Unless the postseason ban is waived or avoided through the use of a filter, teams that don’t achieve the 930 will not participate in the postseason from the first time their multi-year APR falls below that benchmark,” NCAA spokesperson Michelle Brutlag Hosick told Wilner in an email.

The score the NCAA uses to determine postseason eligibility is a four-year average, and UCLA had scores of 942, 907, 977 and 905 in its last four seasons under former coach Steve Alford. That means the 942 will be removed from the calculation in the spring, so the Bruins need a score above 928 to avoid dipping below 930 for their average.

APR is calculated by measuring whether athletes remain in school and in good academic standing. Undergraduate transfers and players leaving early for the NFL or NBA draft lower the score.

UCLA already botched its coaching search and seemingly settled for Cronin, but he’s an experienced coach who enjoyed success at Cincinnati. If the Bruins can’t get their APR score up, it won’t matter how good of a coach Cronin is.

 

[madmustang4]

In some regards this is great for Cronin. He can blame any future failures on the APR issue and his inability to recruit good players.

 

[twindman]

I wondered about early NBA exits from NCAA affecting the APR. Especially teams like Kentucky. I can't figure it out. They had a .995 5 years ago, and 4 straight years of 1000!!!!!! How can you get a 1000 when 3-5 guys went pro a year or two ago???? Can someone explain how this works?

 

[Franisdaman]

I wondered about early NBA exits from NCAA affecting the APR. Especially teams like Kentucky. I can't figure it out. They had a .995 5 years ago, and 4 straight years of 1000!!!!!! How can you get a 1000 when 3-5 guys went pro a year or two ago???? Can someone explain how this works?

Duke and Kentucky have so many 1 and dones. I would think their APR's can't be that great but apparently not. It is strange, indeed.

 

[icwesthawk]

Use of a filter, lol. Just another big name school that won't be held to the same standards as the rest of college basketball.

 

[C/Seahawk]

I wondered about early NBA exits from NCAA affecting the APR. Especially teams like Kentucky. I can't figure it out. They had a .995 5 years ago, and 4 straight years of 1000!!!!!! How can you get a 1000 when 3-5 guys went pro a year or two ago???? Can someone explain how this works?

Schools aren’t penalized if players leave early for the NBA, as I understand it the APR looks at whether the players are making progress towards a degree. You know they would never devise a system that would penalize blue bloods and you’d really have to be a goober to find yourself in this much trouble at a blue blood. Steve Alford is like the jelly of the month club, the gift that keeps giving the entire year.

 

[HawkRugged17]