Amid a chorus of boos, James Nnaji, the 7-foot center and 2023 NBA draft pick whose signing drew criticism from coaches across college basketball last month, made his Baylor debut Saturday in a 69-63 loss to TCU in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Though Nnaji never played in an official NBA game, the No. 31 overall pick in 2023 participated in that year’s summer league and was later part of the three-team trade that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks. Now, after playing the past four years in Europe, Nnaji suited up for the Bears in the losing effort, scoring five points in 16 minutes.
Baylor’s move prompted the NCAA to issue a statement, saying any players who have signed NBA deals won’t be eligible. A handful of players who spent time in the developmental G League without some version of an NBA deal have turned up at college programs.
“James did nothing wrong,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said after the loss. “Baylor did nothing wrong, and I know he’s human and just making sure he doesn’t feel that. If James was an NBA player today, he would be in the NBA.”
Nnaji entered the game with 11:59 remaining in the first half as TCU fans booed, but he also received some cheers from a solid Baylor contingent.
“James is a great young man,” Drew said. “Grew up playing piano in the church. Mom’s most excited about his opportunity to get a degree. Brother’s a mechanical engineer. Sister’s trying to get a master’s. I thought he did a great job in a short period of time. He hadn’t played a competitive game in seven months, been recovering from an injury.”
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TCU coach Jamie Dixon said he doesn’t notice crowd reactions during games but mentioned that he joked with Drew by saying, “You’re famous now, huh?” That was after someone in the front row of the student section held up a sign that read, “Scott, college coaches don’t respect you.”
Most of the coaches who questioned Nnaji’s signing, including Arkansas’ John Calipari, have said they don’t blame Drew or any other coach. They blame the lack of standards in the rapidly shifting landscape of college sports.
College basketball has long toed the professional line more closely than football because of plentiful international players and the many U.S. athletes who attend college for just one season. The money involved with NIL has further destabilized the system.
“Call it what it is,” Dixon said. “We have professional basketball with no cap, no draft, no rules, no interpretation. It’s not in writing. You can be as good as you want to be. You’ve seen that in football. You’ve seen it in basketball. Put the resources into it.”
Nnaji’s first college points came on a putback dunk. The 21-year-old Nigerian also finished with four rebounds, exiting after picking up his fourth foul with 4:42 remaining.
Micah Robinson, meanwhile, had 13 points and 10 rebounds for TCU (11-3, 1-0 Big 12) in the win. Xavier Edmonds had 12 points and Liutauras Lelevicius and David Punch added 11 apiece for the Horned Frogs, who ended a five-game home losing streak in the series.
Baylor, which was coming off three consecutive outings of scoring more than 110 points in lopsided victories and ranked fifth nationally in scoring at 96 points per game, was held to a season low in points while shooting 37%. Cameron Carr scored 17 points and Dan Skillings Jr. added 13 for the Bears (10-3, 0-1).
TCU trailed for just 10 seconds in the game, but Baylor had two chances to score when the deficit was down to four in the final two minutes. Skillings had a driving layup blocked, and Carr missed the rim on a wild 3-point attempt.
Nnaji and the Bears will take on No. 3 Iowa State at home Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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