Source: USA TODAY

Ten years ago, the Michigan athletic department faced one of the darkest moments in its history.

The NCAA penalties from the Ed Martin booster violations became official, and the punishment included restrictions beyond Michigan’s self-imposed sanctions.

One of the longest penalties was the “disassociation” of the four players — Chris Webber, Maurice Taylor, Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock — who violated rules by accepting more than $600,000 from Martin. (Traylor died in 2011.)

While most are celebrating the end of the 10-year disassociation, there’s one key point to keep in mind: The 2003 public infractions report included the phrase “this disassociation shall be for at least 10 years.” That “at least” means the situation may not be completely resolved, though the disassociation could technically be over as soon as Wednesday, the 10-year anniversary of the penalties — and the bare minimum. The wording, however, suggests that it may not be over until Michigan (or perhaps even the NCAA) says it’s over.

Webber, a member of Michigan’s Fab Five, was the No.1 pick in the 1993 NBA draft and subsequently enjoyed a 15-year career in the NBA. Because of Webber’s role in the program’s violations, Michigan removed banners celebrating the school’s 1992 and 1993 Final Four appearances.

While Webber’s Fab Five teammates have clamored for a public embrace now that reconciliation is allowed, the athletic department maintained this week that there is nothing to publicly state about that.

Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon, who took over the athletic department in 2010, told USA TODAY Sports in February that he has “good” relationships with a majority of the Fab Five members. He said then he has not met Webber, but he “looks forward to doing that one of these days.”

“I believe the more time that passes, the more we all remember the positive things about those teams, the Fab Five,” Brandon said. “There were more than five guys on those teams, and those guys accomplished some very important things that really changed the direction of basketball at the University of Michigan. I give them all the credit in the world — all of them.”

The disassociation required the following:

Looking at precedents set by other programs with similar histories, the vacated seasons will likely not be reinstated and the banners are not likely to be hung back up.

Former Fab Fiver and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose produced a documentary on the Fab Five in 2011; Webber was not interviewed in it. In the documentary, Brandon said Webber should apologize to the school.

Rose told USA TODAY Sports in February he didn’t think that would happen, but he hopes that Michigan will acknowledge and embrace the Fab Five era, instead of ignoring it.

“If you don’t want to put the banners back up, that’s fine,” Rose said. “I think they could put a black banner up with maize and blue around it and the Fab Five numbers on it, and say whatever they want to say and be done with it. But if they are going to wait for Chris to apologize to acknowledge what the coaches and the players and fans really want to see, I think they’re doing a disservice to the whole situation.

“I walk outside right now, I get hit by a bus and now everybody wants to honor me and the Fab Five. That’s how these situations work. I don’t want to have to go to some tragedy or a funeral, and then, ‘Oh my God, we really loved and appreciated them so much.’ “

Last month, Webber made an appearance at the Final Four in Atlanta. He tweeted a photo of himself watching the national championship game from a suite, and CBS cameras captured footage of him entering the Georgia Dome. The other members of the Fab Five sat a few rows behind the Michigan bench, and they also congratulated the current Michigan team for reaching the title game afterwards in the locker room.

Webber could not be reached for comment.

Mark Snyder contributed to this report. Snyder writes for the Detroit Free Press, a Gannett property.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

College basketball’s offseason just got two weeks shorter.

The NCAA announced Friday afternoon that a proposal for men’s teams to start practicing six weeks before their first regular-season games has been approved and will take effect this fall. The proposal was finalized at the end of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors meeting Thursday.

In the past, men’s basketball teams were allotted 30 days of practice in the four weeks before their first games. Spreading 30 days of practice over an expanded time frame of 42 days allows for more flexibility in preseason practice schedules, and it also allows for teams’ first practices to be on a Friday, meaning that Midnight Madness season tip-off events can take place on weekends.

The NCAA also eliminated the requirement that teams’ first practice begins no earlier than 5 p.m. This opens up the possibility of events actually occurring — as their names would indicate — at midnight, as they have in the past on the first day of the season.

The 2013-14 season opens on Nov. 8, so that means teams will be allowed to begin practicing on Sept. 27.

A potential side effect of a longer preseason practice period could be improved quality of play in early-season games. Considering that scoring in Division I men’s basketball was at a historic low point last season, this is welcome news.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

Gonzaga’s seven-foot center Kelly Olynyk has decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the NBA draft, Olynyk’s father, Ken, confirmed in a text message to USA TODAY Sports. The Spokesman-Review (Wash.) first reported the news Friday afternoon.

“I love this place, I love my teammates, but the NBA has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid so it was something I had to act on,” Olynyk said in a statement released by Gonzaga later Friday. “It’s your dream. That’s the highest level and everyone wants to play at the highest level. It will be a journey, but I think it will be a fun one. You have to make sure you are ready to go and you are ready to play. You’re just moving on and you don’t know what’s going to happen up there.”

“It was tough. When you talk to people no one really tells you to go or not go; everyone says it’s your decision. Everyone tells you why you should go and why you could come back. Everyone kind of leaves you hanging in that sense. They just say go with your heart, go with your gut and that’s what will make the best decision.”

Olynyk told Gonzaga coach Mark Few he was going pro Friday morning. Few said in a statement he was “very proud” of what Kelly accomplished at Gonzaga and wished him well at the next level.

The redshirt junior averaged 17.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per game this season. He also shot 63 percent from the field, helping to guide Gonzaga to a 32-3 record. Olynyk emerged as one of the nation’s premier players after sitting out for a season to develop as a basketball player. During his redshirt year, Olynyk worked on strength training, agility and balance.

He needed to improve in all those areas, particularly if he wanted playing time. Over his first two seasons with the ‘Zags, Olynyk averaged just 4.8 points and 12.9 minutes a game. He debated transferring, but instead decided to stay put and improve his body and game in Spokane.

“Kelly’s always had a belief that he was an NBA player,” Gonzaga strength and conditioning coach Travis Knight told USA TODAY Sports in January. “Early on, I think that was met with a lot of comments, basically, trying to help him see the picture clearly of where he really was. Really, you think you play like this guy? You think you’re going to be this guy?

“He had a belief that he could do it. He kept that goal in the front of his mind and didn’t let go of it. There are a lot of guys who say that but don’t, in their heart of hearts, believe it. But Kelly does, and we’re all starting to see it.”

Olynyk is projected to be a first-round pick in the June 27 NBA draft.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.