Everyone has an opinion on James Nnaji’s 1st game with Baylor

Baylor took a 69-63 loss to TCU on Saturday, and in the process, James Nnaji, a former NBA Draft pick, made his college basketball debut. Fans, college coaches, and even Nick Saban have had an opinion on Nnaji. As the former second-round draft pick has made his debut, the opinions keep coming in about both him being on the court and his play for Baylor.

Nnaji entered the game during the first half of the game and was booed by TCU fans as he entered, plus every time he touched the ball. Baylor head coach Scott Drew stood up for his newest player after the game.

“James did nothing wrong. Baylor did nothing wrong, and I know he’s human and just making sure he doesn’t feel that. If James was an NBA player today, he would be in the NBA,” Scott said to the media following the contest, according to ESPN.

Nnaji would score his first points for Baylor with just over nine minutes left in the first half. He would go on to score five points and have four rebounds in 16 minutes of play.

“I give him a C,” said Jalen Rose on the TNT postgame show. “I am glad to see him playing, if that’s the rule, but they are going to need to see him be a lot more dominant.”

The Baylor center played in Europe before being drafted with the 31st overall selection by the Detroit Pistons in 2023. His rights would be traded to the Charlotte Hornets immediately, and then traded to the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade revolving around Karl-Anthony Towns. He would play some time in the NBA Summer League with both the Hornets and Knicks, but never signed an NBA contract. While other coaches are frustrated with the move, they do not blame Baylor for making it. This includes the TCU head coach Jamie Dixon.

“Call it what it is,” Dixon said. “We have professional basketball with no cap, no draft, no rules, no interpretation. It’s not in writing. You can be as good as you want to be. You’ve seen that in football. You’ve seen it in basketball. Put the resources into it.”

While Nnaji performed admirably in his first game, Rose is right, Baylor will need more from him. Fans will also likely continue to boo him, and other coaches will still be answering questions.

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