Coaches, players perplexed by state of game

Less than three months after leading Michigan to an NCAA championship, Dusty May left for the NBA, telling the Dallas Mavericks the job checked all his boxes and acknowledging that coaching in college has become "much more complicated than it used to be." His former assistant, Mike Boynton Jr., now leads a Wolverines team that lost its top three scorers to the NBA and opens the season at 30-1 odds to win the title in Detroit on April 5.

The months since the Final Four have been marked by lawsuits over player eligibility that have turned roster-building into a courtroom crapshoot. Preseason favorites include No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Duke at 6-1 odds, No. 4 UConn at 11-1, and No. 3 Illinois at 12-1. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said he lives the sport daily but doesn't know which teams have which players because of the "incredible stupidity of our system," noting that a month into the school year, players still don't know if they're eligible.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued an executive order less than two weeks before the Nov. 2 season openers granting a fifth year of eligibility to players in his state who graduated high school in 2022. The order influenced a state Supreme Court decision restoring Filip Borovicanin to Xavier's roster and also affected Gonzaga, where Javon Bennett and about two dozen other players were made eligible. A California ruling restored eligibility for Florida transfer Xavian Lee, a key piece for the 15th-ranked Zags.

According to the College Sports Litigation Tracker, 74 cases are moving through state courts involving more than 500 athletes across sports, with more than 250 having eligibility restored so far. Louisville coach Pat Kelsey testified in a Kentucky case, saying, "Tell me the rules and I'll follow them. Nobody follows them. You're trying to trick me with a bunch of stuff. End the chaos." Arkansas coach John Calipari posted on social media that he can't imagine what fans are going through and knows how challenging it is for coaches and players.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal