USA - The N.B.A.'s Push for Reform Leads to Talk of an Academy

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Part of that effort took a step forward yesterday when Stern and Adam Silver, the N.B.A.'s deputy commissioner, toured IMG Academies in Florida for ideas on how to create a European-style basketball academy for young, elite American players. IMG has trained and educated top players in tennis, soccer and basketball for years.

In a telephone interview Friday, Stern said he could envision an academy opening by 2008. He said he liked setting "crisp dates" to "keep the process moving."

"We're not kidding around here," he said.

The idea for an academy came about because of lagging performances by the United States in international competition and, Stern said, because the American system has "exploited and exposed" talented players "all the way up."

Stern ridiculed the system during last season's N.B.A. finals, and he cited an investigation by The New York Times that revealed some students were receiving easy grades for little work at dubious schools so they could qualify for college scholarships.

The developmental academy, as well as who would run and fund it, remains in the discussion phase, and it is considered only part of the solution to complicated problems facing youth basketball. The academy would include basketball training and proper educational opportunities for top players.

Stern said if the academy opened by 2008 it would probably be incorporated into existing schools and basketball facilities. The IMG tour was used to show how an academy worked.

"We want to understand it," Stern said. "We want to see it. They already have a basketball academy. We're getting educated."

There is also a logistical question: Should there be one or two main academies or several for different regions of the country?

"Location and format are the two biggest issues," said Sonny Vaccaro, a longtime sneaker company marketing representative who has met with Stern in New York about the concept. "Where are we going to put it, and how is it going to function?"

As a sign of how serious the N.B.A. is with helping reform the youth basketball system, Stern said the league took five employees to a summit in Indianapolis in September to discuss youth basketball and education. Also included at the summit were representatives from the Amateur Athletic Union, high schools, colleges, USA Basketball and major sneaker companies. A report from that meeting is due in January, and recommendations are expected to be made early in the summer.

Myles Brand, the president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, attended the summit and said it raised issues greater than the academy. Brand has indicated that the N.C.A.A. would be willing to work with an academy to ensure that its players are eligible for college upon graduation.

But Brand said the summit had already yielded positive developments, including decisions by Nike and Adidas to drop their showcase camps for young players in favor of camps that focus on individual skills. Reebok is still scheduled to have its showcase camp in New Jersey in July.

"The two major shoe companies are looking to develop more instruction opportunities during the summer and not play a lot of games," Brand said. "That's positive."

Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim, who attended the summit, said he was not sure an academy was an answer to youth basketball's ills because it would accommodate only elite players.

He said one way college coaches could help players develop faster would be for the N.C.A.A. to let them work with their players over the summer.

"Our guys are in summer school, and they're going to spend at least 20 hours a week in the gym," Boeheim said. "Why can't we work with our guys a few hours individually?"