"“Does anybody care what this is doing for 17 and 18 year old American kids?"
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - The University of Baylor engulfed the NCAA and Basketball world ablaze earlier last month, by adding James Nnaji, a 7-foot center from Nigeria who played professionally in Spain the last four years, and was drafted 31st overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. He now holds four years of NCAA eligibility after not playing in any NBA or G League games.
Arkansas head coach John Calipari voiced his concerns after the Razorbacks’ dominant win over James Madison. Calipari slammed the NCAA over rules on player eligibility, and making increasingly difficult for incoming freshman players to gain opportunities to hone in on their skills.
Calipari continues to be an innovator in men’s college basketball, doing things few dared to do at the time, including building rosters around prized freshman athletes. Calipari won a national championship during his time at Kentucky, and has been a phenomenal recruiter of young players. However, the sport has changed drastically since then.
“I’ve got friends that are playing with 27-year olds, and they feel bad, and I say, ‘Don’t feel bad. We don’t have any rules. Why should you feel bad?’” Calipari said in a statement to the media. “But let me give you this. Real simple: the rules bees the rules. So, if you put your name in the draft, I don’t care if you’re from Russia and you can 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 got drafted, you can’t play college basketball because that’s our rule.” Calipari continues.
John Calipari continues with questioning the current NCAA structure, and how this’ll harm young players, saying, “Does anybody care what this is doing for 17 and 18 year old American kids? Do you know what this opportunity has done for them and their families? There aren’t going to be any high school kids. Who, other than dumb people like me, are gonna recruit high school kids? I get so much satisfaction out of coaching young kids and seeing them grow, and make it and their family’s life changes, that I’m gonna keep doing it. But why would anybody else, if you can get NBA players, G-League players, guys that are 28 years old. Guys from Europe - do we really know their transcript? Do we have somebody over there? Do we really know their birth certificate? Or don’t we?
“I say to you, if a kid transfers four times, is he going to graduate from that school? There’s no way, you can’t graduate. So now you’re going to be done playing, without a college degree. You have no ties to the last school you went to, where they feel that you played for Arkansas, you played here, we’re here, you’re gonna have an opportunity, that’s done. You’re offered $55,000 in your first job, and you go, ‘What? $55,000? Do I have to show up?” Calipari continues to the media. “I’m worried about mental health. Look, I’ve been poor, and you know what’s worse than being poor? Coming across some money then being poor again. That’s the worst. You can transfer once without penalty, because you picked the wrong school, the coach lied to you, there was a player that you didn’t know about, one time. Then after that, you got to sit. Because what do you think they’re transferring for? It isn’t because they’re mad at this or that, I can extort you (financially), and if you don’t give it to me, I’m going over here.” he continues in a rant to the media.
In addition to Nnaji’s addition, the NCAA ruled to allow 21-year old guard London Johnson to join Louisville next year with two seasons of eligibility, despite having played three seasons in the G League. A month later, the NCAA ruled to allow 22-year old center Abdullah Ahmed, who spent the past two years in the G League, to join BYU next season. He was granted at least two, possibly three years of eligibility.
Key Stat
James Nnaji drafted 31st overall in the 2023 NBA Draft
