Scott Drew believes he did what any college basketball coach would do after Baylor encountered three significant injuries and a pressing need for a mid-year addition.
But since Drew and the Bears received a green light from the NCAA on Christmas Eve to add the No. 31 pick in the 2023 NBA draft — 7-foot Nigerian center James Nnaji — many peers have voiced concern and even disdain for the direction the sport is headed.
Tom Izzo, the longtime Michigan State coach whose opinions on the transfer portal and expanding the field of the NCAA Tournament have been clear, said over the weekend he attempted to contact Drew to discuss his thought process and share his thoughts on “taking guys that are in the NBA.”
“I said it to you a month and a half ago — c’mon Magic (Johnson) and Gary (Harris), let’s go baby, let’s do it,” Izzo said of bygone era Michigan State stars who went on to NBA success. “Why not? I mean, if that’s what we’re going to, shame on the NCAA. Shame on the coaches, too. But shame on the NCAA, because coaches are gonna do what they got to do. But the NCAA is the one. Those people on those committees that are making those decisions to allow something so ridiculous and not think of the kid(s).”
Freshman Maikcol Perez (torn ACL) and Juslin Bodo Bodo (arm) are hurt, dimming Baylor’s outlook in nonconference season. But the Bears are tipping off Big 12 play at TCU on Saturday with a whole new view thanks to the roster shuffling.
Nnaji hasn’t played in an NBA game, and because he was the first pick in the second round he didn’t receive a guaranteed contract. Nnaji did get paid for participating in Summer League. He was drafted by the Pistons only for his rights to be traded first to the Charlotte Hornets and then the New York Knicks.
Drew said the Baylor compliance office worked closely with the NCAA “for months” on what eligibility hurdles might exist.
“He’s played in the Summer League, which you get per diem to play in. So, I think him being drafted. There’s people in college that have been in the draft and haven’t gotten drafted,” Drew said. “There’s people on the women’s side that have been drafted and play in college. So, I’m not the expert. So, I don’t want to comment or say things that are inaccurate and mislead anybody. I just know they told us he can play. So, I’m happy.”
Regarding critics of the new age of apparent free agency in college basketball, Drew said he and Izzo might agree to disagree but remain friends. Drew said the final decision came down to being “adaptable” to the current NCAA landscape.
“I got a lot of respect for him. Great conversation. As he said, 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,” Drew said. “Until that, I think all of us have got to be ready to adjust and adapt to what’s out there. 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.”
Drew said in an interview with CBS Sports the athletic department equates the Nnaji agreement to the speed limit, where drivers must obey to a construction zone limit and then be ready to get up to permissible interstate speeds when the law allows.
“Right now, the NCAA has speed limits, and it changes,” he told CBS. “I don’t blame the NCAA because a lot of it’s about what they feel they can win in the courtroom. To me, until we get to collective bargaining, there’s not going to be a solution. Until that time, my job is the coach of our program and we needed to add a player at semester break because we’ve had two season-ending injuries to two of our biggest players and had a third player out. If you’re coaching a team, aren’t you going to add the best player you can add that fits your program? That’s what we did.”