College sports have changed drastically over the past half-decade.
College football has shifted into a mini-NFL, where the upcoming January transfer portal will have more deals and blockbuster transfers than any NFL free agency period in history.
And with college basketball, it's all about eligibility, as players from across the country are coming to play for powerhouse schools that are testing the limits of what the NCAA will greenlight or not.
On Wednesday, those limits were pushed even further, as 7-foot, 21-year-old Nigerian player James Nnaji was granted four years of eligibility to play for the Baylor Bears.
While the news doesn't outright jump at you, things change when you realize Nnaji not only declared for the NBA Draft in 2023, but he was selected with the 31st overall pick by the Detroit Pistons.
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Although Nnaji did not officially sign with the Pistons, his rights were held by the Pistons and subsequently traded to the Charlotte Hornets, who then traded his rights to the New York Knicks in the massive trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to Manhattan.
During the time his NBA rights were being transferred across the league, Nnaji was playing in Europe with FC Barcelona. At the end of the 2025 season, he parted ways with Barcelona, playing for the Knicks in the summer league but not officially committing to the NBA pathway.
Instead, the former 31st overall selection has decided to go down the route of college basketball, in which players can now sign big-money deals due to the NIL policy.
He will be eligible to play immediately for the Bears this year and can play in the second half of their season. Baylor currently sits at 9-2 overall in the tough Big 12 Conference.
In his final season with Barcelona, Nnaji averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 16 minutes per game.
Newsweek