The NCAA allows student-athletes to play four seasons of college basketball within a five-year window from high school graduation, but to say programs are operating in the gray area right now would be an understatement, looking for any loophole they can find to fill rosters — and in some cases, add players in the middle of the season. Take Baylor’s James Nnaji, for example, the No. 31 overall draft pick in 2023 who was actually involved in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade to the Knicks with five NBA Summer League games under his belt now immediately eligible for the Bears in Waco.
Elsewhere, Oklahoma just added a Russian pro center at the semester break while Utah did the same with a Spanish pro guard. BYU went a different route by adding G-Leaguer Abdullah Ahmed with 54 pro games under his belt at what feels like college basketball’s version of the trade deadline.
“We have college basketball coaches, my friends, right now out there who are recruiting guys off of NBA rosters,” former college coach Mark Gottfried said of the ongoing trend and what’s to come.
“I think we will see a couple probably before the upcoming semester starts this year,” Tom Crean told Adam Zagoria of NJ Advance Media.
College basketball is a mess and the rules have never been more unclear — if there are any at all. Would any serious pushback hold up in court, anyway? How far off are we from, say, two-way players bouncing back and forth from the G League to the NBA, using up their remaining eligibility in school? The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman reports 22-year-old Jazian Gortman, who has played in 16 NBA games after going undrafted in 2023, is being contacted by schools about suiting up in college.
In response to someone saying we are one season away from someone who played NBA minutes going back to college, Goodman responded with the following: “We’re probably closer to a week away from that than a season.”
It’s all ridiculous and truly pathetic, spineless stuff from the NCAA. But, hey, if there are no rules to follow, why not take advantage of the chaos? Mark Pope took pride in building the most expensive team in college basketball this offseason, and considering the underwhelming start and ongoing injury issues, he’s got time to add to it before Kentucky’s next game at Alabama on January 3, right? He said he’s “not sure we’re shopping” for Jaland Lowe insurance at point guard, but if he wanted to get crazy, here are some former Wildcats he should call not only to address ball-handling depth, but to field an unbeatable roster entering conference play and the postseason.
Maybe something this dumb would force the NCAA’s hand to draw actual lines in the sand with all of this — as long as we win No. 9 in the process.
Oscar Tshiebwe
Admittedly, this insane idea was sparked because the Big O is actively pushing for it on social media, Tshiebwe wondering aloud if he has another season of eligibility if Nnaji is able to suit up at Baylor.
“That mean I have one more (season) right?” he said.
“Wait a minute are people allowed to go back to school?” Tshiebwe wrote in another post.
He does, in fact, have one more season of eligibility — but has played in 22 career games with averages of 6.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. As a 2019 high school graduate, he’s technically outside his five-year window, but again, why draw the line there at this rate?
The production speaks for itself, Tshiebwe a two-time consensus All-American and the unanimous National Player of the Year in 2022. He averaged 17.4 points and 15.2 rebounds per contest as a junior in Lexington, then 16.5 points and 13.7 rebounds as a senior. Could you imagine him next to Jayden Quaintance and Mo Dioubate in the Kentucky frontcourt?
Ashton Hagans
Hagans entered the draft after his sophomore campaign at Kentucky when the world shut down in 2020, leaving Lexington on a sour note — he stayed home during the team’s trip to Gainesville for the regular season finale and that group never played another game together.
Since then, he’s played just 21 career games in the NBA, signing only two-ways, Exhibit-10s and ten-days with the Timberwolves, Raptors and Trail Blazers. During a brief stint with the Greensboro Swarm — the Charlotte Hornets’ G League affiliate — he told KSR that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
“Being at Kentucky, that’s a one-time thing you get in life. When you go on to that next step in life, being a professional, it’s a business,” he said. “It’s nothing like the opportunity that you’re getting right now. So just take it all in, you know?”
What if it could be a two-time thing you get in life? The former five-star guard would certainly appreciate a shot at redemption — and he addresses depth concerns behind Lowe, so it’s logical in this highly illogical scenario making a mockery of collegiate athletics.
Kahlil Whitney
Now we’re inching closer toward realistic possibilities — despite Whitney being part of that high school class of 2019 with Tshiebwe, thus being outside the five-year window. But he’s got a real argument for eligibility outside of that, playing just 18 games at Kentucky before leaving the program on January 24 to pursue other options. Up to that point, he averaged 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds as a former consensus five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American.
From there, the 6-6 wing played in one preseason game for the Charlotte Hornets, but the rest of his career was limited to G League stints with the Swarm, Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Windy City Bulls beyond overseas stops. His situation is no different from Baylor’s James Nnaji outside of his eligibility clock starting six years ago as a Wildcat. In fact, they’re actually the same age at 24 years old.
Whitney, who averaged 14.0 points on 62/43/70 splits in three TBT games with La Familia this summer, would have a solid argument.
TyTy Washington Jr.
I tried really hard to find someone who actually met the qualifications for this little exercise, but they all either sat outside the five-year eligibility window (EJ Montgomery, Sacha Killeya-Jones) or had a cup of coffee in the NBA (Jacob Toppin, Chris Livingston) to take them out of the running. The reality is that all Kentucky alums would have to do some convincing with the NCAA for a shot at a return to college basketball.
Of those who make sense on paper from a positional standpoint and checking at least a few boxes for eligibility, Washington would be a fun one for Kentucky. Sure, he’s played in 58 NBA games across three seasons with three franchises (Houston, Milwaukee and Phoenix), but he was only picked two spots earlier and one draft sooner than Nnaji as a one-and-done with three years of eligibility remaining and his clock still technically ticking.
He averaged 12.5 points on 45/35/75 splits with 3.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 29.2 minutes per contest as a Wildcat. His last appearance in the blue and white came against St. Peter’s in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a second chance there, assuming the NIL money would be right.
Would you be for it or against it? Any former Wildcats I’m missing — or any I’m not missing that you’d like to see anyway, knowing all of it is nonsense anyway?