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The debate over NCAA eligibility for athletes whose background includes NBA experience was reignited after James Nnaji joined the Baylor men’s basketball team.
As the list of athletes who spent time in the NBA’s G League or competed at the international level and are seeking to play college basketball in the U.S. grows, several prominent college basketball coaches have spoken out against the trend. Rutgers men’s basketball coach Steve Pikiell is among that group, but in his critique, he floated an outside-the-box theory.
“Whoever’s out there, you try to pursue. It’s a weird world,” Pikiell told reporters when discussing coaches not ruling out the possibility of midseason transfers.
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Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Steve Pikiell reacts at the end of the game against the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena on Feb. 16, 2025 in Eugene, Oregon. (Craig Strobeck/Imagn Images)
Pikiell’s comments came shortly after Rutgers defeated Delaware State on Monday. He continued his remarks by jokingly adding that he wouldn’t mind having a 36-year-old with a family on the Rutgers roster.
“I’d like to get a 36-year-old with four kids and hungry for a job. I’d like to get one of those guys. We’ll see if one of those guys is available. But yeah, you got to pursue any lead that you have on anybody and then got to go through all the steps to try to make it happen. It’s very complex.”
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Thierry Darlan and London Johnson both skipped the college basketball route, going directly to the now-defunct NBA G League Ignite. Earlier this year, both players received clearance for their respective NBA eligibility.
Elsewhere, Baylor confirmed that Nnaji signed with the program on Christmas Eve, roughly 2½ years after the Detroit Pistons selected him in the second round of the NBA Draft. He has competed in the NBA Summer League but has yet to appear in an NBA regular-season game.
James Nnaji of Barcelona takes a shot during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 34 match between LDLC Asvel Villeurbanne and FC Barcelona at LDLC Arena on April 12, 2024 in Lyon, France. (Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Nevertheless, Nnaji’s move from the EuroLeague to the NBA Draft to Baylor added to the outcry from college coaches and others.
Arkansas men’s basketball head coach John Calipari said no one should be permitted to play college basketball after being drafted into the pros, regardless of international status.
“Real simple. The rules be the rules, so if you put your name in the [NBA Draft], I don’t care if you’re from Russia and you stay in the draft, you can’t play college basketball,” Calipari said Monday. “‘Well, that’s only for American kids.’ What? If your name is in that draft, and you got drafted, you can’t play because that’s our rule.”
A NCAA Official Game Ball logo is seen on a basketball before the NCAA Division II National Championship Basketball game between the Minnesota State Mavericks and the Nova Southeastern Sharks on March 30, 2024, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Longtime Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo also weighed in, jokingly hinting he might inquire with Spartans legends Ervin “Magic” Johnson and others about returning to the college hardwood.
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“Why not? I mean, if that’s what we’re going to, shame on the NCAA,” Izzo said. “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 and not think of the kid.”
Gonzaga coach Mark Few appeared to take aim at the NCAA’s leadership structure, saying, “It’s wild out there right now. We really don’t have any organizational or any real rules right now. I think guys are just trying to do whatever they can. Until there’s a rule that says you can’t do it, it’s hard to blame anybody for doing what they’re doing. Our lack of leadership has really shown.”
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