Scott Drew has been catching a ton of heat this week after adding former NBA Draft pick James Nnaji to Baylor’s roster, and instead of dodging the noise, he went ahead and addressed it directly. At a recent press conference, he led things off by sending some love to Tom Izzo, who was very vocal in his disagreement with the move.
“Well, first off, Coach Izzo and I are friends, and I have a lot of respect for him,” Drew said, clearing the air after Izzo’s “shame on the NCAA and shame on the coaches, too” comments from earlier this week.
Drew didn’t fire back or escalate it; he just mentioned that it is his job to position Baylor in the best place he can to succeed.
“Until we get to collective bargaining, I don’t think we can come up with rules that are agreeable or enforceable,” Drew said. “We’re always going to adapt to put our program in the best position to be successful because that’s what we get paid to do.”
The situation highlights the main issue in collegiate athletics right now: those in power have absolutely no control over eligibility, the transfer portal, and rising NIL costs. On top of that, there’s just no blueprint, and there’s certainly no punishment for trying to make your team better, even if it is a kid with NBA minutes under his belt.
Is it strange to see a former second-round NBA Draft pick suiting up in the Big 12? Sure. But strange doesn’t mean illegal. Honestly, in today’s era of college sports, legality doesn’t really exist when it comes to recruiting.
Do you have to love the move? Absolutely not. I’m not sure anyone outside of Waco does. Still, it’s rich for people to call out Scott Drew when the same folks would be rejoicing if their program pulled off a splash addition like that.
