I hate the trend especially in football to control information. Usually in the Parcells/Belichek “one voice” mantra that has increasingly spilled into college football. The stated reason is that it prevents mixed messages to the media/fans and keeps the assistants focused on their jobs. The reality is it chokes off a lot of information fans crave and makes programs and franchises joyless operations creating unnecessary tensions.

That said, maybe the Gibbs family should at least conference call to coordinate what the hell the plan actually is. Really. Temple and his son Ashton Gibbs keeps putting conflicting/unclarified information out to whoever gets in touch with them. I will say, though, they have created more buzz and conversation for a borderline, possible 2d round pick than you would expect.

A couple days ago, the reports surfaced that Ashton Gibbs was almost certainly staying in the draft. Something he later confirmed — or at least made clear that was what he was leaning really, really strongly towards doing.

Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs, who decided to test the waters three weeks ago, told CBSSports.com on Tuesday night that he is 100 percent staying in the draft.

“When I entered the draft, I entered to get drafted,” Gibbs said.

Something he reiterated to others.

In between that, Temple Gibbs, Ashton’s father did his best to mix the message. First telling Chris Peak of PantherLair.com that no decision was made, and confirming the same to Fittipaldo of the P-G.

“It’s not true,” he said. “I don’t know where he got that. We’re considering the draft and school equally. I don’t really have comment on that other than to say it’s not true.”

Of course, to further confuse things the article also has Temple Gibbs saying that Ashton won’t bother with the big NBA workout being held by the Nets for many players and watched by reps from all teams in the NBA.

Pitt junior guard Ashton Gibbs will decide between entering the NBA draft and returning to school without the benefit of working out before the league’s coaches and general managers, his father said this morning.

Temple Gibbs said Ashton will make a decision in “a week or so.” That time frame is well before the May 8 deadline for underclassmen to withdraw from the draft.

That stance goes against what Gibbs said earlier.

Ashton Gibbs, Pitt’s all-Big East junior guard, has been invited to participate in the group pre-draft workout being planned for the New Jersey Nets practice facility in early May.

Gibbs, who announced his entry into the draft in early April, told Sporting News on Sunday night he plans to participate and is looking forward to the workout, which will give him the chance to perform in front of scouts from multiple NBA teams — perhaps all of them.

“Plus, it’s in New Jersey,” said Gibbs, a product of Scotch Plains.

It could be that he simply isn’t going to wait for the report to come in right before the decision deadline to decide, though.

Temple Gibbs said, however, that Ashton will not wait for feedback from NBA coaches and general managers because “there’s not enough time.”

Underclassmen who take part in the New Jersey workout would receive feedback from NBA personnel and then be forced to make a decision that same day.

This would be a lot easier — albeit drawn out a little longer — if the NCAA hadn’t moved the decision for underclassmen up to this point. The NBA allows the decision to be made up until June 24. That gave underclassmen plenty of time to workout for individual teams. Get much more information over the period and make a much more informed decision (whether they used that info or believed it was a different issue). Aaron Gray and Carl Krauser both took advantage of that to really explore the option before returning for their senior years.

It boggles the mind that the NCAA may let another ACC-led drive to force underclassmen to decide even earlier — 2 weeks while still restricting their ability to gather information on their status. It’s also very disappointing that Coach Jamie Dixon appears to support that drive.

The rationale from the ACC and the members is that NBA personnel directors and general managers spend countless hours and dollars traversing the globe and the country watching games and practices during the season, so why would they then need to watch more in the spring?

Well, for one, pro coaches rarely watch college basketball during the NBA regular season and aren’t thinking about draft prospects. And during the brief “testing” process in late April and early May, if a team is in the playoffs, it would not focus on an underclassman who might not stay in the draft.

The hyporcrisy from college coaches supporting this especially galling since they continually press the NCAA to allow more recruiting periods so they can watch high school players that they want to recruit. Funny how they need more time to gather information and research players they may want, but the NBA has enough time and the college players apparently don’t need to worry about information about their well-being.