John Calipari pushes for NCAA basketball eligibility changes: 'Just do the right thing'

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In the not-so-distant past, John Calipari was a trailblazer in men’s college basketball, a coach who did what few dared to do at the time and built rosters around prized freshmen who would usually only spend a year on campus.

As the sport has changed dramatically in the years since, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer isn’t necessarily comfortable with where things are heading.

The second-year Arkansas coach has been one of the most vocal critics of the increased prevalence of former professional players at the college level, believing that it threatens the foundation of the sport.

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Two days after a lengthy rant on the subject on Dec. 29 — one in which he decried players who entered the NBA Draft being able to compete in college — Calipari continued his push for reform and direction in an interview on “SportsCenter” on Wednesday, Dec. 31 in which he said college basketball is at risk of straying from its mission.

“There are coaches that have told me ‘I’m not recruiting any freshmen.’ That’s not where we should be as an organization, as a profession on campuses,” Calipari said. “It shouldn’t be that. Being transformational for young people, that’s what we should be about. How do we do it? Let them transfer four times? Now, people are encouraging them to transfer because they benefit by them transferring. But having a young person stay and fight and learn and grow at the same place with the same people, we’re helping them prepare for life after sport. This is what we’re getting away from because we’re afraid we’re going to get sued. We’re afraid we’re going to get sued. There are times you’ve got to do the right thing and if they want to sue, sue. Just do the right thing. And right now, if you ask all the coaches, they’re not.”

Calipari has joined a growing chorus of high-profile coaches who have expressed concern following Baylor announcing last week the addition of center James Nnaji, the No. 31 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft who has spent the past five years playing professionally in Europe. Nnaji was ruled eligible by the NCAA and is expected to play this season.

The Bears are hardly alone in acquiring talent from what would have previously been forbidden sources. This fall, Louisville and Santa Clara have signed players from the G League. Rosters at various college programs over the past several years have featured former professional players, primarily from Europe.

On Tuesday, Dec. 30, NCAA president Charlie Baker attempted to add some clarity to the situation, releasing a statement in which he said that the NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any player who has signed an NBA or two-way contract.

“The rule was if you put your name in the draft and then you stay in the draft, whether you get drafted or not, you can’t play college basketball,” Calipari said. “I’ve read this statement that, well, it was about a signed contract. I don’t think any of us ever heard that. We can’t keep moving the goalposts. What we need to know is what are you going to let us do? Why was that OK?”

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Calipari said he has continued to rely on recruiting high school players to replenish his rosters, though he noted that he’s worried about the thought of 18-year-old freshmen, as talented as they might be, having to go against 24- and 25-year-olds.

If nothing else, he’d like to see coaches become more involved in the process of establishing rules for player eligibility.

“I think a group of us coaches has got to get together and say, look, here’s what we think,” Calipari said. “Here’s the four or five things we need to do. You ready for this? If you get sued, you get sued. But I think if you’re doing right by the young people and you’re doing right by the sport, you win those suits. If you’re not being fair, you lose those suits. What I’m saying is get the transfer rule right, get the eligibility…they just cleared a kid for his eighth year of college basketball. Did you hear what I said? No, there are no waivers like that.

“I think having a rule that collectives can only deal with on-campus kids that have been there a year. I believe if this keeps going, there’s going to be players that were drafted in the NFL that are going to come back and play college football. Is that what we want? All I’m saying is we can do these things to make this 70%, 80% better and then work on all that other stuff.”

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: John Calipari slams NCAA, pushes for NCAA basketball eligibility changes

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