The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - Keith Brumbaugh shook his head and sighed at the thought of spending five years playing basketball in college.

"Five years of school?" the blue-chip recruit from Deland, Fla., said Friday at the Nike All-America Camp.

"Five years is a long, long time to be in school."

But Brumbaugh, who is deciding between Florida and Florida State after flirting with the idea of jumping straight to the NBA, is not the kind of player coaches target with their proposal to add a fifth year of eligibility.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches unanimously recommended a sweeping new recruiting model, one that includes allowing players to be eligible for five years.

NCAA president Myles Brand supports the proposal, saying the extra year of eligibility will help place a greater emphasis on education and improve lagging graduation rates. Brand said most students take 4.8 years to graduate and that athletes should be expected to do the same.

Many of the high school players in town for the Nike Camp endorsed the idea of a fifth year, but with an asterisk.

"It's better overall, but it's not something I'm going to worry about," said Levance Fields, a 5-foot-10 guard from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Like many of the youngsters at this year's camp, Fields envisions a relatively brief college career.

NABC executive director Jim Haney said the proposal is aimed more at the vast majority of Division I schools, not at the center of the basketball universe.

"The intent wasn't that it helped one institution," Haney said.

"We wanted it to touch and improve all of them."

The smaller schools with the less-touted recruits stand to benefit most if a fifth year is added.

The NCAA asked the NABC nearly three months ago to help develop a new recruiting model that would attract more players to college, encourage them to stay in school and remain at the university they originally choose.

Basketball

LA SALLE: A second basketball player surrendered Friday to face charges that he and a teammate raped a visiting female athlete on campus last month.

Football

REDSKINS: LaVar Arrington, who signed a nine-year, $68 million contract in December, contends the deal with Washington is missing a $6.5 million signing bonus for the year 2006.

DOLPHINS: Miami linebacker Zach Thomas had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.

Baseball

FREEDOM: The Florence Freedom and Kalamazoo game was postponed Friday due to rain.

A doubleheader has been scheduled for July 31.

Horse Racing

SMARTY JONES: Smarty Jones will return to the races in front of a hometown crowd at Philadelphia Park. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner has begun serious training for the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 6.

Olympics

U.S. VOLLEYBALL: Half of the United States' women's volleyball team that finished a surprising fourth in Sydney will return to the Olympics next month and try to win its first gold medal.

Led by star outside hitter Logan Tom and veteran middle blocker Danielle Scott, the United States arrives in Greece as the second-ranked team in the world behind China, its first pool-play foe Aug. 14.

The men's squad is led by setter and captain Lloy Ball; libero Erik Sullivan; middle blockers Tom Hoff and Ryan Millar; and outside hitter Kevin Barnett.