Posted on: Monday, July 9, 2001

Ferd Lewis
Rainbows sweat out notice of another NCAA go-round

• Foreign players' status concerns UH

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Sports Columnist

Like a lot of other Division I athletic departments, the University of Hawai'i will be watching its mailbox closely this week.

And it won't be for a letter from Ed McMahon.

This is the week letters with that most feared of postmarks, Indianapolis, IN — headquarters of the NCAA — begin showing up as part of the NCAA's most stringent vetting of the eligibility of foreign men's basketball players.

The NCAA has announced it is assigning investigators and sending letters to about 60 schools it believes "may have eligibility issues."

UH officials say they expect to be asked to explain the eligibility of one and possibly more of their nine foreign players.

While it remains to be seen what, if anything, the NCAA might challenge or where it could lead, the arrival of a letter in Manoa at this point wouldn't be good news.

Not if, going on 10 months of huddling with UH on the subject, the NCAA is still asking questions. Not if, four months after UH cleared Pedrag Savovic, the Rainbows' most outstanding player and scoring leader, to play in the NCAA Tournament, rocks are still being looked under.

That UH takes the situation seriously was underlined when it waited until three hours before tipoff to clear Savovic to play in the NCAA Tournament. That decision was followed up with the hiring of Bond, Schoeneck & King, high-powered specialists in infraction cases who bill at $210 an hour, to assist the school's General Counsel with Savovic's case.

In the best of times, negotiating the labyrinthian world of European basketball by the NCAA Manual is asking for a headache. One that UH thought was over when, after four frustrating months of will-he-play or won't-he, the school and NCAA finally decided the eligibility of Israeli center Haim Shimonovich last February. Shimonovich was able to play the final five games of a 27-game regular season.

But before the Rainbows had finished celebrating their Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship, the issue was back bigger and even more ominous. A report in the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News alleged Savovic was one of several foreign players with professional status, forcing UH and the NCAA to take another look.

Although a spokesman maintains the newspaper series didn't trigger the increased scrutiny, the NCAA shortly thereafter dispatched two members of its enforcement staff to Europe this spring to delve into the operation of professional and semi-pro leagues. Information they brought back has led to the NCAA confronting schools with what the NCAA News says is "specific documentation pertaining to the (athletes) in question."

Now, when Bill Saum, the NCAA's director of agents, amateurism and gambling activities, is talking of "cleaning up" issues regarding international players and pledging to address the situation "head-on," there is concern in athletic departments around the country.

And a lot of nervousness at the mailbox this week.

You can reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.