During the 2023-2024 season, 21-year-old Thierry Darlan played in the G-League with Ignite. After two seasons in the NBA’s developmental league, Darlan is now playing at Santa Clara University. Lately, there has been a surge of former G-League players and international pros getting the green light to play NCAA basketball, sparking outrage from fans, coaches, and players across the country. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo called it “embarrassing” and “ridiculous.” Izzo is one of the most respected coaches in the nation and has been highly vocal about his displeasure with the ruling, saying it reflects poorly on coaches who take advantage of the decision.

According to NCAA rules, basketball players can make a case for college eligibility if they maintain amateur status, which is five years or less removed from high school graduation. In the past, any player who had played professionally would be ineligible for college. However, NIL and revenue sharing have changed all this. Once players get paid, the line between amateur and pro has been blurred. G-League players earn an average of $40,000, which the NCAA considers low enough that G-League players aren’t truly professionals in the way the old rule had defined it.

Joining Darlan from the G-League are Louisville guard London Johnson, BYU big man Abdullah Ahmed, Alabama big man Charles Bediako, and Ole Miss commit T.J. Clark, with other former G-League players expected to follow. This marks a major shift in college basketball. One of the most eye-opening applications of the rule change came when former NBA second-round pick James Nnaji signed to play for Baylor on Christmas Eve. Nnaji’s first appearance came against TCU on January 3, when he came off the bench and played 16 minutes in a 6-point loss.

Normally, part of the rule was that players who went through the NBA Draft process would not be allowed to use it, which is what makes the ruling on Nnaji so confusing. Bediako’s comical return comes at Alabama, where he played during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons. This brings up the question of why leave a school if you’re going to go right back? Also, Bediako is the first former G-League player with previous college experience to return to collegiate basketball, raising more eyebrows.

However, in a sign of hope for basketball fans on February 9, an Alabama circuit judge ruled Bediako ineligible. Bediako was playing under a temporary order that allowed him to join Alabama midseason. “Common sense won a round today,” said NCAA President Charlie Baker. According to Judge Daniel Pruet, Bediako “failed to demonstrate that he is entitled to the injunctive relief that he seeks.”

It’s hard to figure out how far the NCAA will let these rules bend, but if it continues much longer, it will have an even bigger effect on incoming high schoolers trying to get recruited. If 21- and 22-year-old former pro players are available, every coach would prefer one of them over an 18-year-old with no experience. Some of these guys are getting up to four full years of eligibility. These constant rule changes and rule-maneuvering are pushing the point of college sports.

College players are meant to be in college to try to get to the G-League or the NBA, so how does it make sense that players who were once playing at a higher level than the NCAA are being granted eligibility? What the NCAA is doing here is essentially letting players who thought they were good enough at one point to move on from college, but know they can just go back because they weren’t actually good enough. This is part of the road to ruining college basketball, and it has gone way too far.