By ADAM ZAGORIA
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson weighed in on Baylor’s mid-season addition of former NBA Draft pick James Nnaji, giving props to Baylor coach Scott Drew and saying he was unaware of the rule himself.
The 7-foot Nnaji, a former NBA Draft pick who spent several years in the EuroLeague and played five games this summer with the Knicks in Summer League, will debut Saturday vs. TCU.
The development has sparked a huge controversy within the college basketball world, with Michigan State Hall of Famer Tom Izzo and Villanova’s Kevin Willard among those ripping the NCAA for what is transpiring.
“I say kudos to Scott Drew and Baylor for knowing about it,” Sampson, who next year is eligible for the Naismith Hall of Fame, said via Chris Baldwin. “. . . I didn’t know about (the rule). But then again I never asked either. And nobody ever told me. But Scott did. And you know what? Good for Scott. If the rule is there, then you should be able to do it. But if the rule is there, let’s find a way for everybody to know about it. . .
“Whether it’s a good rule or a bad rule. . . Look man, we’re paying these guys more money than their parents will make in a lifetime. And you’re asking us what we’re worried about an eligibility rule mid semester. . . There’s no such thing as a surprise anymore.”
NCAA President Charlie Baker on Tuesday clarified the organization’s stance on schools adding players with professional experience amid backlash from some prominent coaches, saying athletes would be ineligible if they signed regular NBA contracts or Two-Way deals involving G League affiliates, but the rule would not necessarily apply to those competing in other pro leagues or in the G League without NBA contracts.
Here’s his full Tweet:
“The @NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an @NBAcontract (including a two-way contract). 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.”
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