Bill Self Weighs In on NCAA Eligibility Rules Amid James Nnaji’s Return to College Hoops
Kansas head coach Bill Self isn’t pointing fingers - at least not at his fellow coaches. While some in the college basketball world are raising eyebrows at Baylor’s addition of former NBA Draft pick James Nnaji ahead of Big 12 play, Self is keeping his focus on the system, not the people working within it.
“My deal is, whatever the rules are, that’s the rules,” Self said during a youth basketball clinic at Allen Fieldhouse earlier this week. “I think it’s very hard to be critical of somebody operating within the rules. I’d be more critical of the rules makers.”
That’s a clear message from the 23-year Kansas head coach: don’t blame the coaches - blame the rulebook.
Nnaji, a former second-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is set to suit up for Baylor this season after being cleared by the NCAA. He becomes the first player ever to be drafted into the NBA and later play college basketball. While that might sound like a loophole, it’s actually within the NCAA’s current eligibility framework.
The 7-foot center, whose rights are held by the New York Knicks, never signed an NBA contract. He played in the 2023 Summer League and received only standard per diems and travel expenses - no salary. Most of his professional experience came overseas in the EuroLeague, primarily with FC Barcelona, and because he never enrolled in a U.S. college and is still within the NCAA’s five-year eligibility window, he was granted clearance to play.
Self didn’t mention Nnaji or Baylor’s Scott Drew by name, but he didn’t shy away from criticizing the broader rule that made this possible.
“First of all, I think it’s a ridiculous rule that you can do it,” Self said. “There have been so many things that the NCAA has come up with in past years … they didn’t play out to be actually true.”
He pointed to the recent shift in transfer rules as a prime example. “It wasn’t that long ago that no two-time transfers would be able to play immediately,” he said.
“So we don’t recruit two-time transfers and (after) one lawsuit there’s a blanket waiver that they’re all eligible. So instead of recruiting them, we played against them.
The bottom line is it’s a bad rule.”
The heart of Self’s frustration lies in the inconsistency. Players can leave high school, play professionally overseas or in the NBA pipeline, and still return to college - as long as they stay within that five-year window.
“We allow them to do it from Europe, so why wouldn’t you allow them to do it from the U.S.?” Self asked.
“There are a lot of things about it to me that we make rules and then the unintended consequences of those rules… are much more difficult to deal with than the rules themselves.”
As for Kansas, Self made it clear that the Jayhawks aren’t planning to add a former NBA player midseason, despite rumors swirling around former Louisville commit Trentyn Flowers. Flowers, who’s currently on a two-way contract and has logged minutes with the Chicago Bulls, is reportedly eyeing a return to college hoops.
“I don’t believe that we’re going to bring in anybody now to play this year,” Self said. “I’m not going to say we’re not going to sign somebody that could possibly be like a Bryson Tiller, but we’re not planning on bringing anybody in right now to play this year.”
Tiller, who enrolled at KU midseason last year, redshirted while recovering from injury - a path that might be open to others in similar situations. But for now, Self isn’t looking to add a player just because they’re available.
And he’s not sweating the recruiting chatter either. Asked about reports linking Kansas to Flowers, Self shrugged it off.
“I’m not upset about anything,” he said. “What difference does it make if we are or not?
Because the bottom line is people are going to report whatever they’re going to report.”
Self also acknowledged that interest in eligible former pros will only grow as more names become available. “There will be many, many, many, many, many schools getting in touch and contacting those players,” he said.
Would he ever pursue one himself? That’s a case-by-case call.
“Everything is based on a need,” Self said. “Amount of money available, what they’re looking for, needs for a specific team.
Have you signed anybody else early and positionally? Maybe you’d have given that money away, whatever.”
In other words, Self isn’t ruling anything out - but he’s not chasing headlines either. For now, he’s staying focused on his team, the rules as they stand, and the bigger picture of how college basketball continues to evolve in the NIL and transfer portal era.
And while he may not love the rulebook, he’s playing by it - just like everyone else.