The nation's college basketball coaches embark Sunday for July's annual whirlwind tour of camp and AAU-tournament meat markets -- Cincy, Indy, Louisville, North Augusta, S.C., Vegas, Orlando, jet lag, rushed meals, etc. And in their spare hours away from steamy gyms, most of them will visit maternity-ward nurseries at local hospitals.

You know, to check out the Class of 2026.

Recruiting is not for the weak-kneed, faint-hearted or those who believe boys should take drivers ed before they decide where to take European History 101. That much we know from a trend that suggests prospects are being recruited as soon as they're tall enough to ride the Dominator at Kings Dominion.

A year ago, for instance, N.C. State got a commitment from a 6-9 player who had just completed his freshman year at a Raleigh-area high school. North Carolina last fall and winter lined up two future-delivery sophomores, including Kendall Marshall of Arlington.

But those guys are graybeards compared with some of the juveniles being hustled by our institutions of higher campusball.

Consider Southern Cal coach Tim Floyd. In 2006 and 2007, he got commitments from two eighth-graders -- a forward from L.A. and a guard from Aurora, Ill. Arizona's Lute Olson offered scholarships those same years to a couple of kids who'd yet to enter eighth grade (each declined, which suggests their parents have more of a world view than Lute).

Finally, last month, Kentucky's Billy Gillispie set tongues to wagging -- if it happens at UK, it's a talking point -- by having his scholarship offer accepted by one Michael Avery of Thousand Oaks, Calif. Avery is 15. He still hadn't finished eighth grade when he pledged allegiance to the Cats. He can't sign a national letter of intent until November 2011. By then, he might be in decline and Gillispie in Zanzibar.

Fearful this lunacy might not end before embryos were being signed up, the coaches association last week reminded its members that NCAA rules prohibit them from contacting athletes until June 15 after their sophomore season. The association also said it opposed accepting commitments from players who hadn't completed their sophomore years -- a stance Richmond's Chris Mooney and Virginia's Dave Leitao endorse.

"I wholeheartedly agree with the recommendation," Mooney said. "I wish we weren't in the situation where that was even a possibility."

Added Leitao, "There's something fundamentally wrong with recruiting youngsters of that age. They're just entering high school. They haven't built enough of a transcript to show they can even handle college work. There's so much maturing to do."

That said, Leitao cautioned that standardizing the recommendation is "problematic" -- and he's right. Coaches are always seeking an edge. Prospects and their families can't be prevented from calling a coach or dropping by a campus. The coaches association can't make rules; it can only make nice.

But the NCAA can legislate, and here's what it should do: Pass a law that prohibits coaches from conversing with under-age athletes, other than offering instruction at school-run camps.

If, say, a ninth-grader calls a coach or stops by the coach's office on an unsolicited visit, the coach should tell the kid he's not allowed to talk to him.

Yeah, some coaches would sneak around the rule -- but those guys sneak around lots of rules. Mooney says that "the culture of basketball is not very good, in my opinion" -- and he's right, too. From Kelvin Sampson's shenanigans at Indiana to O.J. Mayo's special delivery to USC, hoops is messier than ever. Outlawing the recruitment of babies won't purify the game. But it'd help.