By Griffin Powell 

Over the past decade, regulations and rules in the NCAA have been constantly changing. Whether it is the amount of eligibility each player is given in their collegiate career or how much money a team can use on their official visit for recruiting. At the end of the day, there is a lot of protocol that can be tedious for many programs. This past month there have been waves surrounding shortcuts and loopholes collegiate teams have been using to bolster their rosters up. The main concern is that G League players being eligible to return to college after playing years of professional basketball. Many Division I coaches are outraged and have a lot to say regarding the situation.  

 Recently, the NCAA has given players who played in the G-League to return to college basketball with multiple years of eligibility. On October 22, London Johnson, a former 4-star recruit committed to come back and play college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. This has caused a train of controversy throughout college basketball as this is a very drastic loophole that can change the makeup of a team and how they recruit players. Johnson averaged 7.6 points per game in the G League before ultimately deciding to use the remaining years he had left in his college eligibility.  

Many well-known coaches have given their opinion regarding the recent changes. But one is more outraged than the others. Hall of Fame college basketball coach Tom Izzo was furious to hear about the decision. In an interview with ESPN, he says, “I am not really excited with the NCAA or whoever is making these decisions, without talking to us, just letting it go because they are afraid of getting sued.” Izzo also said in the same interview, “The NCAA has to regroup, that is just my opinion.” Along with everything said, he claims the NCAA has “no set rules” and is a “slippery slope of regulations and protocols”.  

Collegiate sports have taken a huge step backwards with this ruling. High school seniors are being penalized with these ongoing protocols due to older guys continuing to gain eligibility, and they do not benefit at all. Izzo says, “Well, what about the freshman you recruit there? That is somebody’s son who thinks he’s got himself a good place, and all of a sudden, you’ve got a 22-year-old from the G League committing to your team. To me it is ridiculous.” 

With this ruling by the NCAA, many people have sparked outrage at the decision. They claim it creates controversy and teams must become more flexible in their recruiting. Regardless of whether people like the decision, the NCAA will continue to push new regulations, and this will only force teams and programs to be more adaptable.