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College basketball legend Tom Izzo couldn't hold back when asked about James Nnaji returns to Baylor after being selected in the NBA draft but never playing for the team.
Nnaji announced that he would return to the Bears after his stint with Barcelona. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 2023 and was traded twice during his career. He was part of the trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks ahead of the 2024-25 season.
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Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo protests a call that benefited the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first half at the Jack Breslin Student Activities Center on Dec. 2, 2025. (Dale Young/Imagn Images)
But Nnaji is part of a growing trend of exes college basketball players who still have NCAA eligibility return to school after a stint in the G League or elsewhere. On Saturday, Izzo suggested he'd had enough.
“Now we're taking guys that were drafted into the NBA and everything,” the Michigan men's basketball coach said, via Detroit Free Press. “I told you this a month and a half ago – come on Magic (Johnson) and Gary (Harris), let's go baby, let's do it. Why not? I mean, if that's what we're going to (do), shame on the NCAA. Shame on the coaches too. these decisions to allow yourself something so ridiculous and not think about the child.
James Nnaji of FC Barcelona takes a shot during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague regular season round 34 match between LDLC Aswel Villeurbanne and FC Barcelona at the LDLC Arena on April 12, 2024 in Lyon, France. (Eurasia Sports Images/Getty Images)
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“So, everyone says what I think about my program, or I'm selfish. No. Say it straight, for all of you. I think about what would be best for my son if he were in this situation? And I just don’t agree with that.”
Izzo insisted he wasn't going to fight the growing trend, but he also wasn't going to let it slide by not sharing his thoughts on the matter. He argued that if college basketball was going to be more like professional basketball, he should go all in rather than dip his toe into those waters.
James Nnaji of FC Barcelona during warm-ups before the 2023/2024 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoff Match 1 between FC Barcelona and Olympiacos Piraeus at the Palau Blaugrana Stadium on April 24, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. (Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball)
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He expressed similar sentiments in October as the first crop of G League players returned to school.
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