FanHouse Paul Hewitt

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The talk of the Atlantic Coast Conference's basketball media day Sunday was the trouble a player could get into if he talked too much.

Or said the wrong thing, or gestured the wrong way, or celebrated excessively, or did anything else that might be considered "unsporting behavior,'' according to a new zero-tolerance policy approved for this season by the NCAA.

Many of the players and coaches gathered at Greensboro's Grandover Resort bluntly said they either did not like the change, didn't understand why it was necessary, or both. The biggest issue: there is too much room left for the wrong interpretation.

Thank goodness for Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt, a historically gifted recruiter who has been allergic to scandal. He represents a segment of his profession that could squeeze inside a foul lane.

Duplicity and college basketball are now one. I mean, if you name a program that has acquired a bigger-than-life player in recent years (Memphis and Southern Cal come to mind), it's like this: The odds are greater than Dick Vitale screaming into a microphone that such a program is destined for the NCAA slammer.

Hewitt disagrees. For one, he is high profile as president of the Black Coaches and Administrators and as a veteran of the Atlantic Coast Conference. So if he decided to shove a few of his peers under the bus, others would roll the wheels back and forth across his tongue.

Derrick Favors, the number one college basketball prospect in the country according to Scout, announced his college decision today and he's going to be a Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket.

Paul Hewitt (right), GT coach, is probably pretty thrilled. Sidney Lowe, who runs the the coffee-less N.C. State Wolfpack, well, probably not so much.

It was mentioned as well during the press conference that the Jackets are hoping to land John Wall, the number one point guard in the country. That seems unlikely though -- Wall and Favors only had Memphis as a common recruiting link.

Georgia Tech head basketball coach Paul Hewitt is becoming one of my favorite coaches. He has no problem challenging the status quo and questioning the way the NCAA does things.

His newest rant is about how the college basketball season is too long. Hewitt thinks the season shouldn't start until after Thanksgiving and teams should play fewer games. If that means he gets paid less money, he's cool with that.

"You want to pro-rate my salary, go ahead," Hewitt said. "I would do it tomorrow. Because it just puts a lot of stress on our guys."

"I do find it interesting that we talk out of both sides of our mouth about the need to graduate and the need to make sure the grades are good," Hewitt said. "And we keep increasing the standards, but we don't give the kids any more time to be successful."

I applaud Hewitt because he honestly fights for the student part of the student-athlete. This past summer, he had a heated debate with the Knight Commission over their stance on punishing head coaches for grade point averages. It isn't that he's making excuses to save his rear, but he claimed coaches ask players to take easier courses that will keep their grades up instead of allowing them to take a more challenging course-load.

First we had Arizona recruit Brandon Jennings heading to an Italian team when he couldn't get himself academically eligible for school. Next, we had NBA player Josh Childress signing with a Greek team instead of staying in the NBA.

Now, we have a guy just leaving during his college career and going to Europe.

Meet Ra'Sean Dickey, a Georgia Tech power forward. He is leaving school to play for a team in the Ukraine. Dickey would have been a fifth-year senior after he missed all of 2007-2008 with academic and injury issues. It is believed that he will sign with the same Ukrainian team as former Yellow Jacket teammate Anthony Morrow.

While Dickey isn't anywhere near as high profile as Jennings or Childress, it is still interesting to see this happen.

"We wish Ra'Sean well as he starts his pro basketball career," [GT coach Paul Hewitt] said by phone. "He certainly has every intention on finishing college. We have all mutually decided that it is in his best interests to start his pro basketball career."

That is interesting because the Yellow Jackets have only nine scholarship players heading into the season. Tech has had ten guys leave via graduation, transfer or pro ball and hasn't been adept at bringing anyone new in.

"We'll be fine," Hewitt said. "There is a possibility that we may be getting another kid. We're probably not going to have as much depth as we'd like, but if everybody stays healthy, we'll be fine."