The difference between the Nnaji and Kofi situations is that Nnaji was always an international player. Kofi at least played in high school here in the states so it's an entirely different situation.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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Saw some highlights of this kid. High motor, seems to be a Brad kinda kid. Goes hard on the glass, good stroke from three.
Where did you come up with that?
If they can't find "getting drafted in the NBA" in the disqualification rules, how thick of glasses will they need to find "played Unites States high school basketball"?
Kofi on this team,
. Just send Natty trophy to Champaign.Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
anyone got the skinny on this kid and his recruitment?:
NCAA needs to put in an age limit. Otherwise it will become a league of washed out NBA guys and Euros. Since the NCAA has the worst lawyers possible losing cases for them it’s not likely they defend this. They’ve basically given up.
Where you will really see this is in college football where I bet in a few years it will be common for college teams QBs to be 27-30 year old guys that aren’t good enough for the NFL. Even eligibility year limits won’t stand up in court
I changed a name in your post to turn it into an absurd, but still true, statement, just to illustrate that this distinction is entirely arbitrary. Both declared for the draft. One was drafted (Nnaji), the other wasn't(Kofi). Both played in the Summer League. Neither signed an NBA deal and instead both played professionally abroad. You could even argue that the fact that Kofi wasn't even drafted makes his case more favorable.
You should have added the (S). Some people are thinking that you are serious.
Except for the part that Nnaji was playing internationally BEFORE he was drafted. When Nnaji was the same age, he was playing for FC Barcelona's reserve team. A lot of players that are 15 or 16 and are in Europe will play for Euroleague teams. They won't typically be playing for high school teams here in the states unless they're part of a foreign exchange program (and even best case scenario they're probably going to some place like IMG if they're a high end prospect). Also, draft-and-stash has been a thing in the NBA for years. Most of the 2nd rounders that are international players don't end up coming overseas but the teams still hold the rights to them on the off chance that they develop enough to be able to play in the NBA.
Also, and I can't emphasize this enough, Kofi was never going to get drafted in today's NBA. He couldn't hit any shot consistently outside of 4 feet from the basket. If you read most NBA draft scouting reports about him, they couldn't really identify one skill he had that would help him to excel at the next level. People on here still thinking that somehow he got "screwed" by not getting drafted just need to get over it.
I've already pointed on here how NCAA opened a Pandora's box with allowing two of the G League Ignite players to play at Santa Clara and Louisville this season.
Nnaji is only 21.
As far as college football, you should take a 2nd look at how old Chris Weinke was when he won the Heisman.
I truly can't recall a single poster who believed that or said that.
blackdog
- Champaign
That should be a deciding factor, once you play in summer league or get a camp invite that should be the end of college eligibility. It seems hard to explain why this guy gets 4 years but our international guys got less despite him being 21.
As for Kofi once you start in college the clock is ticking. Can't turn it back after the fact.
Illini in Italy
- Illini HQ, Florida Panhandle
Minor league sports “affiliated” with a university with paid employees instead of student athletes. What could go wrong?
one day warrick dunn walked into my barbershop and sat down. and I asked warrick "hey warrick you hang out with Chris weinke. how old was Chris weinke when he played at Florida State and won the Heisman?"
he leaned over and said "between you and me, Chris Weinke was 127 years old that year"
Tevo
- Wilmette, IL
Hard to understand how the NCAA would be able to enforce any rules at all about eligibility, unless they have collective bargaining with the players. 5 years to play 4? Age limits? Previous paid experience? None of these rules seem enforceable or defensible anymore. The only way forward, long term, is to officially make the NCAA a professional league with contracts and collective bargaining. And once you have that, why would the players accept limits on years of eligibility or previous playing/payment experience? Maybe the NCAA and the conferences and universities can figure out a plan where the new professional teams are each sponsored by/associated with/co-located with educational institutions, to maintain a semblance of student/alumni pride.
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
Oh my friend you need to go back through the posts of the threads from that draft night and the immediate aftermath. I spent in an inordinate amount of time trying to explain how Kofi was a lottery pick 20 years ago but would be nowhere close to it nowadays.
Deron Williams only used three years of eligibility. He’s younger than LeBron. Just sayin…. 
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
That’s the rule as we previously understood and accepted it. Turns out many of these “rules” were, in fact, just norms.
I think thats eventually what this will become. And none of the players will even be required to be part of the student body (i.e be a student).
Not to me either. Say there’s a guy like Drew Timme who isn’t quite good enough for the NBA. He’s currently on a 2 way deal with the Lakers. And he’s used up his eligibility in college. But let’s say Duke is willing to pay him $2 million dollars (or some amount way more than a 2 way) to play for them. Couldn’t he challenge in court that the current collegiate rule is denying his right to the pursuit of happiness?
There aren’t any jobs in the US that have limits on how long you can work at them.
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