Scott Drew addressed the criticism Baylor basketball’s recent signing of former NBA draft pick James Nnaji on Sunday, telling reporters he’s merely adapting his program to the current climate of the sport.
Last week, the school announced the 7-foot center, who was selected with the No. 31 overall pick in 2023, had joined Baylor’s roster for the rest of the 2025-26 season. The move was met with mixed reactions from both fans and other coaches around the country.
“Most coaches are 99% aligned on things that we would like to see done with our game. At the same time, from my knowledge, until we get to collective bargaining, I don’t think we can come up with rules that are agreeable or enforceable. Until that, I think all of us gotta be ready to adjust and adapt to what’s out there,” said Drew over the weekend.
“Early on, when it first came out with G League players, I wasn’t in favor of that either. But again, we don’t make the rules and as we find out about things, we’re always going to adapt to put our program in the best position to be successful, because that’s what we get paid to do.”
Nnaji played with the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA summer league in 2023. He never agreed to an NBA deal with the Hornets and his draft rights were traded to the New York Knicks in 2024 as a part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. He also played with the Knicks’ summer league team this year.
The 21-year-old has also played professionally overseas, which included a stint with FC Barcelona in the Spanish Liga ACB and in the EuroLeague. FC Barcelona released Nnaji in August.
Two G League players — Thierry Darlan (Santa Clara) and London Johnson (Louisville) — committed to colleges in the fall. Nnaji, however, marks the first former NBA draft pick to be cleared to play in college on the men’s side.
Nnaji’s arrival in Waco comes on the heels of the news that center Juslin Bodo Bodo will miss the rest of the season due to injury.
Baylor faces Arlington Baptist on Monday afternoon, and opens Big 12 play against TCU on Saturday. But it is unclear when Nnaji will make his debut.
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