Braxton Beverly had just begun summer classes as a freshman at Ohio State when he was called suddenly to an oddly timed team meeting in early June. What could coach Thad Matta need to talk about so urgently? It turned out Matta needed to tell the Buckeyes he was no longer an active coach.
The Buckeyes had decided to make a coaching change.
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A three-star point guard from Hazard, Ky., Beverly had a choice at that moment: He could see what Ohio State would be like under the next coach, who turned out to be Butler’s Chris Holtmann, or he could search for a new coach of his own choosing. Beverly decided on the latter, and decided to play for Kevin Keatts at N.C. State.
There is a common word to describe activity this in college athletics: Transfer.
In NCAA basketball, a transfer is required to spend a year in residence before being permitted to play for his new college. N.C. State asked for a waiver of that ruling, because Beverly had only been enrolled in summer classes for a short time before leaving. Monday, the school announced that the NCAA had denied that request.
"Disappointed would be an understatement for how I feel for Braxton, he’s devastated.” Keatts said in the school’s release. “This is a situation where adults failed a young man and he's the one paying the price."
There will be plenty of angry tweets about this development, more shots taken at the NCAA and its alleged intransigence.
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Beverly, though, was handed a challenging circumstance and made a choice. He decided to play for a coach of his own choosing, but the NCAA rules on this have been the same for decades. The rules that allow players to enroll in summer school, have it paid for by their college and practice with their team — those are relatively new. But they’ve been beneficial for athletes in pursuit of college degrees and improvement as basketball players.
Some have argued there should be no restrictions on transfer athletes. I’ve suggested that, for athletes whose sports mandate a year in residence, the restrictions should be waived if their coach is fired or takes another job. But the rule is the rule, at least for now.
Beverly and N.C. State took a shot here. It’s one any athlete would have taken in the same circumstance. It just didn’t connect.
If he made the right choice, though — and N.C. State is an excellent institution and Keatts a terrific coach — this ruling will only delay his success.
