According to NCAA rules, at this point in time, Chicago Bulls forward Trentyn Flowers is not eligible to play college basketball.
The former five-star recruit from the 2023 class, who is on a two-way contract with the Bulls and has played in eight games this season, was ranked as the No. 23 overall prospect by the 247Sports Composite and had originally committed to the Louisville Cardinals before opting to pursue a pro career in Australia. Then, after going undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft, he signed a two-way deal with the Los Angeles Clippers before he was waived and made his way to Chicago.
Now, according to On3’s Joe Tipton, he’s reportedly drawing interest from several major college programs, including Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, and others, along with Danny Sprinkle and the Washington Huskies.
While it’s a foreign concept to many, including Sprinkle, the head coach believes it’s his responsibility to do whatever he can to make his team better.
“It’s hard to understand, but right now in college athletics, I’m not shocked with anything,” Sprinkle said in October. “It’s disappointing from a standpoint of, if I’m a parent of a high school kid, it’s going to be like COVID. There are going to be seniors that just don’t get opportunities, and we’ve really turned into professional sports in college, people can say what they want, that’s what it is.”
“I have nothing against the kids in the G-League, or pros coming over (from Europe), when they come over, that’s the rules, why wouldn’t they try to do that? That’s the rules, but how are we going to differentiate what’s pro? Why can’t an NBA player come down if they’ve only played two years, but we’re going to let somebody from Europe come over that’s played two years and have two years of eligibility? Professional basketball is professional basketball…but yeah, now we’re going to have to recruit those kids too. If we don’t, we’re going to play against them.”
Flowers has averaged 2 points and 0.5 rebounds per game in his eight NBA appearances this season; however, there is some confusion regarding Tipton’s initial report. According to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, three of the teams named told the senior writer that they have “no interest” in Flowers.
“Not even sure how we got on that list,” one team reportedly told Norlander. “No one on our staff has had any contact with anyone associated with him.”
In the extremely complex modern world of recruiting, it’s up to the NCAA to step in and make a ruling to clarify the insanely confusing age of talent acquisition in the world of college basketball.