There has been a recent surge of former NBA G League players and international pros getting the green light to play college basketball around the country, sparking widespread debate on whether this should be allowed.
According to NCAA rules, basketball athletes can make a case for college eligibility if they maintain “amateur status” — five years or less removed from high school graduation; NCAA qualifiers out of high school; didn’t enter the NBA Draft (or did but never signed an NBA contract).
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo recently spoke out about this issue after Baylor received a commitment from James Nnaji, the 31st overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, on Christmas Eve. The 21-year-old Nnaji, a 7-foot center from Nigeria, was granted immediate eligibility as a midseason addition and will have four years of eligibility remaining.
Nnaji never actually played in the NBA or the G League, the NBA’s developmental league, but he did appear in five NBA Summer League Games for the New York Knicks in July and played professionally overseas last season. He was even part of the monster three-team trade that shipped Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks for Julius Randle to the Minnesota Timberwolves in October 2024; the trade also included Donte DiVincenzo and draft assets, including rights to Nnaji and a 2025 top-13-protected first-round pick from the Knicks via the Detroit Pistons.
“I thought I’d seen the worst — then Christmas came,” Izzo said. “What happened just topped it. … Now we’re taking guys that were drafted in the NBA and everything? … If that’s what we’re going to, shame on the NCAA. Shame on the coaches, too, but shame on the NCAA because coaches are gonna do what they gotta do, I guess, but the NCAA is the one.
“Those people on those committees that are making those decisions to allow something so ridiculous. … I just don’t agree with it.”
Baylor coach Scott Drew responded to Izzo’s comments, saying that he’s simply rolling with the punches.
“Coach Izzo and I are friends,” Drew said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him. … As he said, most coaches are 99% aligned on things that we would like to see done with our game. At the same … until we get to collective bargaining, I don’t think we can come up with rules that are agreeable [and] enforceable till that.
“I believe all of us … received to be prepared to regulate and adapt to what’s on the market. Early on, when it first got here out with G League gamers, I wasn’t in favor of that both. However, once more, we do not make the principles. As we discover out about issues, we’re all the time going to adapt to place our program in the most effective place to achieve success.”
Faculty coaches far and large have been largely crucial. Purdue’s Matt Painter was “confused,” per Sports activities Illustrated, when he first heard the information and initially thought it was a joke.
“We simply need to know the principles so we will abide by them,” Painter mentioned. “We do not know what is going on on.”
“Every part I am studying from faculty coaches is nice stuff, however what’s not being mentioned, is that it’s not faculty basketball,” St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino posted to X on Tuesday. “It is skilled basketball with budgets that rival the Euroleague. So professionals have commerce deadlines. The G league is approach beneath faculty basketball on a pay scale. Even two-way gamers are approach beneath. Sadly, the sport I have been in for over 40 years not exists.”
Pitino additionally joked that he had “first dibs” on two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. “So let me get this straight, we will now recruit G League gamers? Is the NBA subsequent?” Pitino wrote.
However, first-year Auburn coach Steven Pearl falls within the minority.
“It’s a waste of time to complain about it,” Pearl mentioned, per The Athletic. “If there’s a loophole that you could expose and exploit to assist make your staff higher, that’s what you need to do. I believe what Louisville [did] is sensible. These guys are artistic thinkers, and so they’re looking for methods to be forward of the curve.
“Daily, each week, [the rules] are altering. So that you gotta roll with it.”
Nnaji’s most up-to-date faculty dedication has reignited a debate that has been gaining momentum as of late.
In September, the NCAA dominated 21-year-old guard Thierry Darlan eligible to affix Santa Clara regardless of his skilled observe, which included two years within the G League after prepping at NBA Academy Africa in Senegal. Darlan was the primary former G League participant to swimsuit up in a school recreation and have become the face of a rising development across the nation.
In October, the NCAA dominated to permit 21-year-old guard London Johnson to affix Louisville subsequent 12 months with two seasons of eligibility regardless of him having performed three years within the G League.
In November, the NCAA dominated to permit 22-yard-old middle Abdullah Ahmed, who spent the previous two years within the G League, to affix BYU subsequent season. He was granted a minimum of two, presumably three, years of eligibility, per Yahoo Sports activities.
What number of extra gamers will be a part of this quickly rising listing? Solely time will inform.
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