Former NBA draft choose’s faculty return reveals lunacy of system

[ad_1] Faculty basketball has jumped the shark.

On Wednesday, NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony reported that James Nnaji, the No. 31 total choose of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, has enrolled at Baylor and "is straight away eligible to play faculty basketball this season" after being granted 4 years of eligibility by the NCAA. (h/t On3's Joe Tipton)

The transfer, as Givony writes, marks a "monumental" second in faculty basketball, one which additionally highlights the absurdity of the present period of faculty athletics.

Former 2023 NBA second-round draft choose's Baylor eligibility highlights pressing want to repair system Nnaji, 21, declared for the 2023 NBA Draft in April of that 12 months after enjoying abroad. In 4 seasons throughout EuroLeague and Liga Endesa play, the 6-foot-11 Nigerian-born heart has averaged simply 9.5 minutes per sport however shot 69.5 p.c.

He was chosen with the primary choose of the second spherical of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Pistons, who traded his draft rights to the Charlotte Hornets. In October 2024, Nnaji's rights have been included within the three-team commerce that additionally despatched Karl-Anthony Cities to the New York Knicks. He performed for the Knicks' summer time league crew in July 2025.

From a basketball perspective, Nnaji will present wonderful dimension for the Baylor Bears (9-2) as they get set to enter Large 12 play on Jan. 3. Per KenPom, the Bears are No. 7 in Division I in offensive rebound price (41.7 p.c) and will preserve that edge with Nnaji.

It isn't his fault for making the most of a system with none guardrails. The NCAA's determination can also be according to what it informed The Athletic in July 2025 concerning worldwide gamers 22 years of age who're robotically entered into the draft.

"Beneath NCAA guidelines, if a participant is drafted by an NBA crew within the 2025 draft, he should be eligible to compete for a D-I program supplied he meets all different NCAA educational and athletics eligibility necessities," an NCAA spokesperson mentioned.

In September 2025, the NCAA granted former G Leaguer Thierry Darlan eligibility.

On Tuesday, Villanova head coach Kevin Willard ripped the present construction, telling reporters, "This period is insane... The NCAA is completely a clueless loss. It is a joke.

"I simply tried to signal a 47-year outdated Chinese language man within the Chinese language European League... I believe Oklahoma simply signed a 24-year-old Russian [Kirill Elatontsev]. It is like, what are we doing?" an exasperated Willard mentioned. (h/t The Villanovan's Dylan Johnson)

However there's a path ahead that would present much-needed aid.

With gamers profitable in a string of antitrust lawsuits, the subsequent logical step ahead is to enter collective bargaining agreements. However as ESPN's Dan Murphy wrote earlier this month, "The NCAA and campus leaders are adamantly against turning athletes into staff."

Murphy notes that "price and infrastructure" play vital roles in leaders' opposition, however the price of persevering with to argue and — based mostly on precedent — lose instances may very well be simply as substantial.

A current CBA proposal provided by Athletes.org, the gamers affiliation for faculty athletes, supplied one attainable answer based mostly on "a non-employee collective bargaining mannequin that grants faculty athletes a particular standing—just like how SAG-AFTRA represents its members—whereas nonetheless classifying them as unbiased contractors somewhat than staff.

"This mannequin preserves athletes rights whereas addressing a central concern of universities: worker designation," the CBA framework continued.

With a CBA, guidelines may very well be in place to, on the very least, make gamers chosen in an NBA Draft ineligible to play NCAA basketball.

It might be a momentous, long-overdue second in faculty athletics. Some could argue that it is inevitable. Following Wednesday's ruling, it's a necessity.