Two more Rainbows under NCAA scrutiny

By Dayton Morinaga
and Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writers

The NCAA has notified the University of Hawai'i it has concerns about the eligibility of two other men's basketball players in addition to Predrag Savovic, The Advertiser has learned.

A UH official confirmed that the NCAA has questions regarding the eligibility of forwards Mindaugas Burneika and Bosko Radovic.

"In the research we did, both of those guys look good (eligibility-wise)," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "But like everybody says, if the NCAA really wants to go after someone, they can get 'em on just about any little thing. But we feel that both those guys will be OK."

The two are among four Western Athletic Conference players reportedly mentioned in NCAA letters. WAC commissioner Karl Benson confirmed that players from the conference were identified by the NCAA but declined to provide names citing privacy restrictions. The other two WAC players under question are believed to be from Fresno State and Rice.

On July 3, the NCAA mailed memorandums to 52 Division I schools regarding the eligibility of 62 men's basketball players from foreign countries.

The NCAA says it has notified affected schools of "specific documentation pertaining" to the players named and assigned an investigator and membership services representative to work the cases. In essence, UH must now provide paper work proving that Burneika and Radovic have never played as professionals or in a professional league.

"We're going through the process of addressing the NCAA's concerns," said Hugh Yoshida, UH athletic director. "We've consulted our legal counsel and will see how this plays out."

Burneika played for Lithuania's junior national program before enrolling at Weatherford College (Texas) in 1998. He transferred to UH last year. Radovic played for Yugoslavia's junior national program before enrolling at UH last year.

"They were playing with other 17 and 18 year olds and none of them were getting paid," Wallace said. "As far as I know, that's OK."

Burneika, who will be a senior forward, averaged 7.4 points a game this past season; Radovic, who will be a sophomore forward, averaged 5.8 points in five games last year before suffering a season-ending leg injury.

Wallace, who is in Indianapolis this week observing a Nike-sponsored camp for high school players, said the topic has created "a buzz" among the college coaches he has spoken with in the last few days.

"I don't think there's any question that the (foreign) kids are being targeted unfairly," Wallace said. "The kids we have are chasing an education and with us for the right reasons. If they wanted to enforce these rules to the T like they're doing, even the American kids could be considered ineligible. The kids at this (Nike) camp had their airfare paid for and they're getting shoes and shirts and other things. They could be considered more as professionals than the kids from Europe."

Counting Savovic, whose case has been under review since March, the three Rainbows being questioned were all starters at one time or another last season. Savovic, a senior from Yugoslavia, was the Rainbows' leading scorer at 17.6 points per game and most outstanding player.

A series in the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News the week of the Rainbows' first-round NCAA Tournament appearance in March alleged that Savovic was among several players on the Division I level who had eligibility compromised by having played in European leagues with professional connections.

UH has since undertaken a review of Savovic's status and is expected to make a report to the NCAA soon. UH retained the high-powered firm of Bond, Schoeneck & King, specialists in NCAA infractions cases, to assist the office of General Counsel in preparing the report.

"The problem is, these kids grow up playing all over Europe, and they don't know about all these NCAA rules," Wallace said. "There's no way a player like Predrag Savovic would know that he's not supposed to be playing against pros."

This spring the NCAA sent two representatives to Europe to meet with the International Federation of Basketball (FIBA) and various organizations to "gain clarity on the status of international (athletes) current on NCAA roster," the NCAA said.