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ATLANTA -- Seeking to truncate NBA teams' 60-day courtship of prospective early draft entrants, the ACC is advocating NCAA legislation that would require college underclassmen to declare their intentions irrevocably by mid-April -- a vast change from the current system of "testing the waters."

John Swofford, the ACC's commissioner, said Sunday that the NCAA Board of Directors will next address the concept on Thursday.

If enacted in the current legislative cycle, the policy would likely go into effect for the 2010 NBA draft; it would supersede any NBA action; and it would drastically shorten a tryout process that often consumes April and May for players of uncertain professional standing.

The new deadline would roughly coincide with the start of the NCAA's spring signing period and would therefore give coaches a feasible chance to replace early departures.

In 2008, for example, college underclassmen had until April 27 to enter their names in the hat, and they could rescind their decisions until June 16 -- a week before the draft but long after the signing period.

The upshot was uncertainty for the college programs, some of which could be caught in a numbers game.

When Virginia's Sean Singletary withdrew from the 2007 draft at the June deadline, his return threatened to put the Cavaliers over the NCAA limit of 13 scholarships. The program remained in compliance only after another player, Ryan Pettinella, gave up his grant and played 2007-08 as a walk-on.

"I think there's a pretty good show of support there from other conferences on this issue," Swofford said, "and we intend to move it forward."

At the request of the league's coaches, Swofford impaneled a study group in May. Karl Hicks, the ACC's director of men's basketball operations, convened with two athletics directors, two coaches and others to seek alternatives balancing the interests of athletes and schools.

"This thing takes a lot of different turns because you want to be respectful of the rights of the player to seek the opportunities that are available, but you don't want to have such an adverse impact that you hold a school in limbo for a long period of time," said Florida State's Leonard Hamilton, one of the coaches on the committee. "You can't tell me it takes 60 days for this process to operate when you've got football (players) making the decision in 72 hours."

Hamilton was referring to the NFL policy, which compels underclassmen to decide in January -- three months in advance of the draft.

"If this does get passed, there could be some kids who make bad decisions by rushing into it," Hicks said. "Then again, there's another thought that if that happens for a year or two, those who are coming after that would be all the wiser."

Coaches also wondered about the academic impact of the existing system, in which players actively work out for weeks, either on their own or for NBA teams. That schedule compromises studies in the spring semester and practically forecloses attendance during the first summer school session.

One coach interviewed Sunday raised a competitive point. North Carolina's Danny Green, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson all did the NBA circuit this past spring, but before they decided to return, they enjoyed the benefit of several practices against other aspiring pros. Formal college practices during that time frame were either restricted or forbidden outright by NCAA rule.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com