For Syracuse basketball coaches and their peers, recruiting has taken on a seismic shift with the transfer portal's explosion in recent years. High school recruiting is still important, but to a lesser degree.
Here's another massive - and potentially litigious - wrinkle. Professional players who fall within the NCAA's five-year eligibility window are trying to return to college and play at that level, given the financial opportunities available through schools paying their athletes directly, along with third-party NIL deals.
International pros or those who have played in the NBA's G League have been cleared by the NCAA to come back to college and play. And now, based on news from last week, guys who have actually suited up in NBA games are trying to retain their NCAA eligibility, which to me is just absurd.
The issue is that with the multi-billion-dollar House antitrust settlement that went into effect for the 2025-26 sports season, the difference between a professional athlete and college athletes is kinda murky, at best.
Syracuse basketball and other college teams might be able to recruit NBA players.
College players are being paid by their schools, so how is that distinct from professional players who don't earn large salaries at that level, whether in the NBA, in the G League or overseas? Legal experts say that if professional players aren't receiving more than "actual and necessary expenses," these players could prevail in court in trying to get their NCAA eligibility restored.
The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any players who have signed an NBA contract. Congress can strengthen NCAA rules so professional athletes cannot sue their way back to competing against college students. https://t.co/hrSqL7xr8b
— Tim Buckley (@Tim_BuckleyMA) January 30, 2026
The NCAA's senior vice president for external affairs, Tim Buckley, recently said on X that the "NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any players who have signed an NBA contract."
By extension, on Tuesday, the NCAA's president, Charlie Baker, said in part to Sports Illustrated: "The rules are clear here. The lines are drawn. Ninety percent of the membership supports and plays by the rules. It’s a relatively small number of folks who can create a lot of confusion."
I don't put much stock into anything that the NCAA says, as I think that it's an incompetent organization. However, I also don't like that NBA players may get the opportunity to return to college, even if they're within the five-year window.
Once you decide to play in the NBA, stick with that. You made that decision, and if it hasn't worked out the way you wanted it to, that's life. Players being able to come back to college after playing in actual NBA games is bad for collegiate hoops - and it will make high school recruiting even less important, which would be a shame.