Steve Lutz Discusses Baylor Adding a Former NBA Draft Pick Midyear

STILLWATER — The hot topic in the college basketball world as we head into the new year is that Baylor is bringing in a former NBA Draft pick midyear.

James Nnaji was selected with the first pick of the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft. He played in five NBA Summer League games with the Hornets in 2023 and five Summer League games with New York Knicks this past summer. Nnaji was part of the three-team trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks.

And now, Nnaji will play in the Big 12.

As you can imagine, such a move has brought forth a lot of opinions. Some of the NCAA’s most recognizable coaches have discussed Baylor’s midyear acquisition over the past week, with Dan Hurley tweeting “this s*** is crazy!!” and saying that college basketball “needs a commissioner.” Tom Izzo said “shame on the NCAA. Shame on the coaches, too.”

Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz was asked about the move following the Cowboys’ 103-77 win against Bethune Cookman on Monday night.

“I thought Scott (Drew, Baylor’s coach) answered it well,” Lutz said. “The tough part is that Scott and some of us others, we sit on these NABC and the NCAA ethics committees and stuff. He did what he’s paid to do. His job, this is how he answered it from what I’m reading, his job is to put Baylor in the best position to be successful and go to the NCAA Tournament. If he can add a big guy at the break and it’s within the rules and that helps his team get better and it helps their chances of going to the NCAA Tournament, he did is job.

“It’s a tough deal. I’m not going to get into my opinions, but I understand why and what he did.”

Lutz’s comments align with other coaches, essentially saying don’t hate the player, hate the game. The issue is, no one really knows the rules to said game right now.

How’d it get to this point? Well, the NCAA keeps losing lawsuits. Jeff Goodman asked the NCAA whether players with NBA experience were eligible to play in college, and the NCAA didn’t exactly say no.

“Schools are recruiting and seeking eligibility for more individuals with more international, semi-pro and professional experience than ever before and while the NCAA members have updated many rules following the House injunction, more rules must likely be updated to reflect the choices member schools are making,” the NCAA’s statement read. “At the same time, the NCAA eligibility rules have been invalidated by judges across the country wreaking havoc on the system and leading to fewer opportunities for high school students, which is why the Association is asking Congress to intervene in these challenges.”

Nnaji isn’t the first midyear transfer to join a team, nor is he the first player to come to college basketball with professional experience (OU just added a Russian midyear with professional experience overseas). Heck, OSU’s Lefteris Mantzoukas played professionally in Greece. But Nnaji marks the first NBA Draft pick to be ruled eligible for college basketball, something that feels like the next step in this slippery slope.