Scott Drew’s response to James Nnaji criticism proves that Tom Izzo was right

Scott Drew made national headlines last week when he poached a former G-League player to join Baylor as a mid-year addition. Tom Izzo wasn’t thrilled with his fellow coach.

Izzo and Drew are close and the two apparently talk often about life and basketball, so when the latter landed a former NBA draft pick to join his team in the middle of the season, Michigan State’s head coach took exception to it.

While Izzo said “shame on the NCAA” for allowing that to happen, he also said shame on his fellow coaches for not upholding the same moral standards that he does.

Izzo wasn’t happy with Drew, and after ripping into the NCAA and the recent move to allow pros to join college basketball in the middle of the season, he said he was going to give his friend a call to get his side of things.

Apparently the call did happen, and Drew addressed it on Monday.

Scott Drew’s response to Tom Izzo left a lot to be desired

Everyone, including Izzo, wanted to know why Drew decided to do what he did in regards to adding James Nnaji in the middle of December to a roster that could compete for a Big 12 title already.

Drew’s response to the criticism which some are calling the start of the sport’s downfall? Lame.

Drew basically said that until the NCAA puts its foot down and makes a change, he’s changing and adjusting to the times in ways that will help his program.

That type of response is exactly why Izzo is widely-respected, and Drew is now widely-criticized. This didn’t give a reason as to why he’s falling short of his normal moral standards to win a couple of games while simultaneously taking a spot away from a Baylor big on scholarship in the rotation who earned it.

Drew basically said: “Well, everyone’s doing it, so why can’t I?”

What he isn’t acknowledging is the fact that he opened a can of worms for the NCAA and college basketball in general. First it was overseas pros coming over, now it’s former G-Leaguers and NBA draft picks, so what’s it going to be next? When does it stop?

Izzo was right, and Drew’s response just proved that.