PRESS BOX: Paying athletes was the right thing to do, but it ruined college basketball

Ben Martindale, Staff Writer

On Jan. 3, 7-foot center James Nnaji checked into his first college basketball game for the Baylor University Bears. The 21-year-old was greeted with a chorus of boos that would continue throughout the game.

If you’re wondering what reason fans could have for booing a player before he’d even touched the college hardwood, the answer is simple – Nnaji should never have been allowed onto the court in the first place.

For decades, hoopers from all around the world have dreamed of the NBA. While there are many routes to get there, the most traditional has typically been via college basketball. For Nnaji, the opposite is true.

Nnaji, a native of Nigeria, officially declared for the NBA draft in 2023. He was selected No.31 overall by the Detroit Pistons. Despite this, Baylor still successfully recruited him three years later. This makes Nnaji the first ever former NBA player to play in a college basketball game.

While Nnaji never technically played in an NBA game, he did get summer league minutes, even matching up against NBA superstar Victor Wembenyama. Nnaji’s draft rights have also been traded numerous times. First from Detroit to the Boston Celtics, then from Boston to the Charlotte Hornets, before finally landing in New York after being acquired by the Knicks, who still own his draft rights to this day.

The NCAA’s decision to allow Nnaji to retain his college eligibility despite his former NBA status came as a shock to the sports world and set new precedents across the college basketball landscape.

The response to Nnaji’s signing has been largely negative among fans and coaches alike. Earlier this month, legendary University of Arkansas coach John Calipari sounded off on the state of college basketball.

“Look, I don’t blame coaches,” said Calipari. “You know I’ve got friends that are playing with 27-year-olds and they feel bad. I said don’t feel bad. We don’t have any rules, why should you feel bad?”

“But let me give you this, real simple, the rules be the rules,” belted Calipari. “So if you put your name in the draft, I don’t care if you’re from Russia, if you stay in the draft, you can’t play college basketball.”

The rules state that once a basketball player elects to go through the draft process, they cannot play college basketball afterwards. Nnaji managed to skirt past on a technicality as the NCAA states this rule only extends to American players.

The bizarre ruling by the NCAA is yet another example of a rapidly changing college athletics scene that now finds itself ruled by the transfer portal and billionaire donors.

It is unfair to blame Nnaji for the controversy surrounding his debut, but it is fair to be frustrated at it’s happening. Nnaji is just the latest case in a string of NCAA eligibility controversies, and he certainly won’t be the last.

While the NCAA has acknowledged the need for rule changes, it seems to be taking no action to actually make it happen. Instead, the NCAA has seemingly kicked the can to Congress in hopes it can implement legislation that could solve its problems.

While the move to ask for congressional assistance may appear genuine, in reality it’s performative and useless. 

The same billionaires that are pouring endless money into college sports, are also funding the seats of the very congressional members whom the NCAA would be asking for regulation.

As always, the rich will get richer, and they will do it with little thought to the high school prospects and college athletes who fall victim to the current NCAA system along the way.