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.
Although Nnaji never played in an official NBA game, the 31st 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 last four years in Europe, Nnaji suited up for the Bears in the loss, scoring five points in 16 minutes.
Baylor's move prompted the NCAA to issue a statement, saying that any players who have signed deals with the NBA will be ineligible. A handful of players who spent time in the developmental G League without some version of an NBA contract have appeared in college programs.
“James didn't do anything wrong,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said after the loss. “Baylor didn't do anything wrong, and I know he's human and I just make sure he doesn't feel that way. If James were an NBA player today, he'd be in the NBA.”
Nnaji entered the game with 11:59 left in the first half as TCU fans booed him, but he also received some cheers from a strong Baylor contingent.
“James is a great young man,” Drew said. “I grew up playing piano in church. Mom is very excited about her opportunity to get a degree. Brother is a mechanical engineer. Sister is trying to get a master's degree. I thought she did a great job in a short period of time. She hadn't played a competitive game in seven months, she was recovering from an injury.”
TCU coach Jamie Dixon said he doesn't notice crowd reactions during games, but mentioned he joked with Drew, “You're famous now, huh?” That was after someone in the front row of the student section held up a sign that said, “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 a lack of standards in the rapidly changing landscape of college sports.
College basketball has long followed the professional line more closely than American football due to the large number of international players and the many American athletes who attend college for only 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 written down. You can be as good as you want. You've seen it in football. You've seen it in basketball. Put the resources into it.”
Nnaji's first college points came on a dunk. The 21-year-old Nigerian also finished with four rebounds, coming off after committing his fourth foul with 4:42 remaining.
Meanwhile, Micah Robinson had 13 points and 10 rebounds for TCU (11-3, 1-0 Big 12) in the win. Xavier Edmonds scored 12 points and Liutauras Lelevicius and David Punch added 11 each for the Horned Frogs, who ended a five-game home losing streak in the series.
Baylor, coming off three straight outings scoring over 110 points in lopsided victories and ranking fifth nationally in scoring at 96 points per game, held a season-low in points on 37% shooting. Cameron Carr scored 17 points and Dan Skillings Jr. added 13 for the Bears (10-3, 0-1).
TCU trailed just 10 seconds into the game, but Baylor had two scoring chances as the deficit was cut to four in the final two minutes. Skillings had a layup blocked and Carr missed the rim on a wild 3-point attempt.
Nnaji and the Bears will face No. 3 Iowa State at home on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
