Tom Izzo was right about the ‘embarrassing’ state of college basketball

”I love my job but I don’t respect my profession.”

Tom Izzo has sounded off on the state of college basketball multiple times, but this past offseason, he was more heated than normal. Izzo called the state of the sport “embarrassing” and said that he’s not happy with the direction in which it’s headed.

Izzo has been one of the most outspoken coaches when it comes to the state of the sport, and some have called him a “curmudgeon” or “old man yells at cloud” and Michigan State fans have warmed up to some of his criticisms regarding the portal and the unrestricted NIL market.

Opposing fans, however, have called him a dinosaur and told him to adjust.

The Hall of Famer has adjusted, and has landed the No. 1 recruiting class — so far — for 2026. He is coming around to the new age of the sport, even if he doesn’t like it. He loves his job, though.

When Louisville landed a G-League player right before the season, however, Izzo looked like a genius for his knock on college basketball and its direction.

A week ago, Oklahoma landed a Russian professional big man who is immediately eligible. Yet another reason to buy Izzo’s harsh criticism of the sport.

Wednesday’s news may just prove Izzo right once and for all.

Tom Izzo was right all along

On Wednesday afternoon, news broke that Baylor was adding a former NBA draft pick to its roster, eligible immediately.

That’s right, the No. 31 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, James Nnaji, is enrolling at Baylor and can play right away for the Bears.

Baylor is 9-2 on the season and it’s receiving a vote to be ranked in the AP Top 25, but this is undoubtedly going to make the Bears serious contenders in the Big 12. This changes the entire outlook of the season for Baylor, and it also proves that the sport is headed in a dangerous direction.

Nnaji was selected in the NBA draft over two years ago. He’s a 21-year-old center who has been playing overseas since 2019. He was drafted as a teenager, but in my opinion, that should make him immediately ineligible to play college basketball. If you’re drafted, you shouldn’t even have that option.

I’m sure Izzo will sound off on this, too. You can’t even hate the coaches who are adding these professional players mid-season, you have to hate the system.

Everything is broken. Izzo was right.