NCAA said Tuesday it would not grant eligibility to any player signed to an NBA contract after Baylor's midseason addition of a 2023 draft pick who played professionally in Europe drew criticism from college basketball coaches.
On Christmas Eve, the Bears announced the signing of 7-foot center James Nnaji from Nigeria. He could make his debut Saturday in Baylor's Big 12 opener at TCU.
Nnaji was drafted in the second round, 31st overall, by the Detroit Pistons two and a half years ago. Since then, his draft rights have been traded to Boston, then Charlotte, and most recently, in October 2024, to the New York Knicks. Nnaji, 21, who played in Europe before being drafted, was not on an NBA roster. He was 18 when he was drafted.
International players from various backgrounds, including those from professional leagues, have been playing college basketball for many years. Now that players are paid on name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, college teams have added players from the emerging NBA G League.
The NCAA said players will not be eligible if they sign regular NBA contracts or two-way deals involving G League affiliates. But the association said that would not necessarily apply to G League players not under contract with the NBA or other professional leagues in the United States and other countries.
“As schools increasingly recruit individuals with experience in international leagues, the NCAA has discretion to apply actual and necessary spending regulations to ensure that potential student-athletes with experience in American basketball leagues are not disadvantaged compared to their international counterparts,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement released by the association. “The rules have long allowed schools to recruit and play mid-year with people who have no previous collegiate experience.”
Arkansas coach John Calipari said he's not criticizing Baylor's Scott Drew or others trying to attract players amid the changing college landscape. But he said the rule should clearly disqualify any player selected in the NBA draft.
“I don’t blame the coaches,” Calipari said. “Let me tell you this, very simply… If you put your name in the draft – I don't care if you're from Russia – and you stay in the draft, you can't play college basketball. Well, that's only for American kids. What? If your name is in the draft and you get drafted, you can't play because that's our rule. But that's only for American kids. Okay.”
Drew defended the move by pointing to other undrafted international players currently playing college basketball. Nastia Claessens, a third-round WNBA draft pick in 2024, is averaging 10.6 points in 11 games for the Kansas State women's team this season.
“Until we get to collective bargaining, I don’t think we can come up with rules that are acceptable or enforceable,” Drew said. “Before this, I think we all have to be willing to adjust and adapt to what happens. In the beginning, when it first came out with the G League players, I wasn't a fan of it either. But again, we don't make the rules, and as we learn things, we'll always adapt to put our program in the best position to succeed because that's what we're paid to do.”
The NCAA has said court rulings in lawsuits challenging eligibility standards are making it difficult to enforce its rules. Lawyers for Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who is suing for more eligibility, seized on Baylor's signing of Nnaji to try to bolster their case.
“While the NCAA has won the vast majority of eligibility cases, recent unusual decisions blocking the NCAA on a nationwide basis from enforcing rules that have existed for decades—even without litigation—are deeply destabilizing,” Baker said in a statement. “In the coming weeks, I will work with DI leaders to defend college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.”
