Purdue basketball analysis in win vs Kent State, nonconference play
The Boilermakers whipped Kent State 101-60 while continuing to grow defensively and affirming its other strengths.
Purdue coach Matt Painter is calling for clearer NCAA rules regarding player eligibility.The discussion follows Baylor signing James Nnaji, a 2023 NBA draft pick.Nnaji is the first drafted player to sign with an NCAA program after playing professionally.
WEST LAFAYETTE — Matt Painter‘s stance on the James Nnaji situation is simple, but the deeper root is far more complex.
Right now, the rules remain unclear, Painter said when addressing the situation.
“Give us the rules and we’ll abide by them. That’s who the rules are for,” Purdue basketball‘s coach said. “The rules aren’t for the people who cheat. The rules are for people that abide by them.”
Baylor announced last week it has signed Nnaji, the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, a move that has drawn criticism from some of college basketball’s top coaches.
Nnaji never played in an NBA game, but is the first player drafted to sign with an NCAA program. He has spent his pro career mostly playing in Europe. Previously, NBA draft picks and, before that, players who declared for the NBA draft and didn’t withdraw within a deadline date, lost their status as a student-athlete.
College athletics were long deemed amateur sports. That status was challenged when in 2021, the NCAA allowed name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation for college athletes. The current model of paying collegiate athletes also includes revenue sharing, which allows schools to pay student-athletes from athletic funds separate from NIL.
In October, London Johnson, who spent the past three seasons in the NBA’s developmental G-League, signed with Louisville.
“We’ve got a governing body right now that they don’t know whether they’re on foot or horseback,” Painter said Monday night. “We’ve got to get some rules so we can abide by them and go forward and just have some common ground.”
Painter has been involved coaching college basketball since graduating from Purdue in 1993. He’s spent 22 seasons as a head coach and in that time has worked with USA Basketball and served on numerous basketball committees.
“You’ve got to do what’s best for the players. You’ve got to do what’s best for the game and we’re changing. We’re shifting here,” Painter said. “Now we’ve got to get some concrete things together and make this work, whether that’s through Congress or what have you.”
Painter pondered not only how the decision affects high major basketball, but the trickle down effect at lower levels like Division II, III, NAIA and beyond.
“We get lost in this little world we’re in,” Painter said. “In reality, let’s not lose that train of thought about doing what’s best for (players). But it’s getting really hard with the landscape we’re in right now.”
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