Baylor Adds Midseason Transfer, James Nnaji, to Help Bolster Big Man Rotation

And to reiterate, James Nnaji never signed an NBA contract, never received an NBA salary, which is why he was cleared despite being drafted. In most ways his case is no different from the international players that’ve flooded into CBB the past four years:https://t.co/BubAeU9RfQ

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) December 30, 2025

Understand the sentiment, but a few weeks ago Rick also said the quality of college basketball has never been better, partly because of the influx of high quality international players who came because they can make better money in college than overseas.

Change is uncomfortable… https://t.co/VswOdw0htz

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) December 30, 2025

Privately, a few coaches have been critical of Baylor coach Scott Drew and his decision to pursue former NBA Draft pick James Nnaji as a midseason acquisition per @DanWolken.

The coaches see the decision to enroll a full-fledged professional basketball player who was nearly a… pic.twitter.com/WyFFwid7u5

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 30, 2025

BearFan33 said:

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boognish_bear said:

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Thank you Seth

I am genuinely confused by all the consternation over Baylor's signing of James Nnaji. There is no substantive difference between his case and the hundreds of other internationals who are playing college bkb and getting paid quite well for it. The only difference is he was…

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) December 30, 2025

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I am genuinely confused by all the consternation over Baylor's signing of James Nnaji. There is no substantive difference between his case and the hundreds of other internationals who are playing college bkb and getting paid quite well for it. The only difference is he was drafted by an NBA team, but he never played in the NBA and never signed a contract. And he never played in college, so under long-established NCAA rules he should be eligible. So what's the difference between his case and the many other internationals who everyone seems to agree have been a huge boon for college hoops?

If the issue is midseason transfers playing right away and displacing current players, what is the difference between Nnaji and all the other midseason transfers who are going to start playing right away again, under long-established NCAA rules?

What's different here aren't the eligibility rules post-NIL/House but the incentive of international players to play college ball in the States for multiple times what they can get paid overseas. Either bringing in the international players is good for college hoops, or it's not. (Narrator: It is.) Being drafted by an NBA team you never played for or signed a contract with is not a material difference IMO, by the letter or the spirit of the rules that were in place long before NIL and the House settlement.

So what am I missing?

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To review: James Nnaji was drafted by an NBA team, but never signed an NBA contract as a full time player or a 2-way player. In addition, I believe he did not declare for the NBA in 2023. Because Nnaji was playing for FC Barcelona for at least a year prior to the draft, the Pistons did not need a declaration from the international player to draft him 31st that year. In short, the draft of Nnaji was made explicitly without his consent. So, the argument Calipari and others are making is that by being drafted without any explicit consent made by Nnaji, he is somehow forever ineligible to play NCAA ball. Anyone want to guess how long that argument holds up in court? No one will take it to court, for the same reason the NCAA and the NBA will not fight this action at all: Any court decision would be likely to blow up the NBA draft.

Really hope opposing fan bases don't take out their manufactured frustration over this on James in games

boognish_bear said:

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Really hope opposing fan bases don't take out their manufactured frustration over this on James in games

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Don't forget, people move on quickly these days. I doubt it will be mentioned by February.

boognish_bear said:

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Really hope opposing fan bases don't take out their manufactured frustration over this on James in games

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Any focus on him will open up Tounde, Cameron, et. al...

boognish_bear said:

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Really hope opposing fan bases don't take out their manufactured frustration over this on James in games

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I'm more worried about refs doing the same.

Won't help that it's TCU in the first game

University of Houston Kelvin Sampson does not blame Baylor coach Scott Drew for bringing on 7-footer James Nnaji, who's already been drafted by the NBA. " I say kudos to Scott Drew and Baylor for knowing about it," Sampson says. ". . . I didn't know about (the rule). But then… pic.twitter.com/zOOl5GGpin

— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) December 31, 2025

The narrative that so many college coaches were upset with @BaylorMBB signing an NBA Draft pick, I believe, is way overstated. The coaching voices that matter in the sport are much more frustrated with the lack of leadership from the top of the NCAA. Regardless of how all is…

— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) December 31, 2025

boognish_bear said:

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Really hope opposing fan bases don't take out their manufactured frustration over this on James in games

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If we were as good as a few years ago, it would get bad. But the team is under the radar and so far isn't top tier so it should calm down.

Now if he starts to go off and takes to colllege ball well.. dominates the glass and the paint.. you'll start to hear a lot of complaining and negatively thrown at the guy.

Everyone should temper expectations. It could go a number of ways. I think at mimium he'll be a solid rebounder and will disrupt shots in the paint at the college level. With Drew's track record for his prototype bigs.. he could be a lot better than that. We'll have to see.

Plus it will be nice to at least extend the rotation by another player.

Seems like the last few years we've had the shortest rotation in the big 12.

Quinton said:

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Everyone should temper expectations. It could go a number of ways. I think at mimium he'll be a solid rebounder and will disrupt shots in the paint at the college level. With Drew's track record for his prototype bigs.. he could be a lot better than that. We'll have to see.

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Agree. He's never averaged playing more than 15-16 minutes a game; the most he's averaged is 7.5 points and roughly 3 rebounds in Euro ball. I hope our fans understand his role is likely to be nothing more than occupying space, being an intimidation factor at the rim that causes more outside shots by the opponent, blocking a few shots, grabbing a few boards, setting good screens to help the offense flow and getting some offensive boards and slamming them home. If he gives us any more than that, then it's phenomenal but unexpected. Anyone expecting him to come in, suddenly start putting put up double doubles and play at an all Big 12 level is setting himself up to constantly gripe and complain after every game. He's the proverbial definition of a role player, which is exactly what we need right now with this short-bench team. He's basically a more athletic version of Flo at this point. Drew's bigs have typically improved year after year and I hope it will be the same with him.