Charlie Baker insists NCAA will not grant eligibility to athletes with the NBA contract
By Mark Kern
Published:
Charlie Baker has heard the talks going on in the college basketball world the last few days after it was announced that James Nnaji was on the Baylor basketball team. That made major headlines as Nnaji was drafted with the No. 31 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets.
Nnanji never played a game for the Hornets, and never even signed a contract with the team.
The fact that he never signed a contract is big in this case, as Baker posted on social media that the NCAA won’t grant eligibility to any athlete who has signed an NBA contract.
The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed a contract (including a two-way contract),” Baker posted on X. “As schools are increasingly recruiting individuals with international league experience, the NCAA is exercising discretion in applying the actual and necessary expenses bylaw to ensure that prospective student-athletes with experience in American basketball leagues are not at a disadvantage compared to their international counterparts. Rules have long permitted schools to enroll and play individuals with no prior collegiate experience midyear. While the NCAA has prevailed on the vast majority of eligibility-related lawsuits, recent outlier decisions enjoining the NCAA on a nationwide basis from enforcing rules that have been on the books for decades — without even having a trial — are wildly destabilizing. I will be working with DI leaders in the weeks ahead to protect college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.
Coaches across the country have been voicing their frustrations with the entire system, with guys like John Calipari and Tom Izzo being two of the most vocal on it. However, when he was asked about it, Baylor coach Scott Drew said that the team wasn’t breaking any rules, and that they are going to do whatever they can to continue to bring in top talent while following the rules.
This may be the first big story of something like this happening, but there figures to be more stories like this to come. Baker is trying to get in front of this story and save face for the NCAA, but it is only going to continue until major changes are made.
