Amari Bailey wants to go back to college?
His college coach is all for it.
“Here’s my opinion,” UCLA’s Mick Cronin told the California Post on Tuesday night. “We spoke, I told him I don’t blame him. Why not take a shot?”
Bailey told ESPN last week that he was trying to return to college for one more season in what would be an unprecedented move for someone who played in NBA games.
After spending one season at UCLA, Bailey was selected in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft and played in 10 games with the Charlotte Hornets as a rookie on a two-way contract. His two-year run in the G League ended when he was cut over the summer.
Bailey has hired an agent and a lawyer to help him in his bid to regain college eligibility. Not turning 22 until Feb. 17, Bailey noted that this would have been his senior season in college had he elected to remain an amateur.
At UCLA, Bailey blossomed into a major contributor by the end of his freshman season. He became a lockdown perimeter defender and hit a 3-pointer that gave the Bruins a late lead against Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament before the Bulldogs countered with their own game-winning heartbreaker.
When he attended the Bruins’ game against Indiana last weekend, Bailey was among a group of basketball alumni honored during a halftime ceremony. Might he get another chance to suit up for his alma mater?
“Oh, we’ll worry about that [later],” Cronin told the California Post. “Right now, I’m just trying to – I love Amari, you know, all my players, I love them, so I’m just trying to give him advice. I thought his comments were very eloquent, the way he expressed himself [to ESPN]. He’s still young, he’s still within his [eligibility] window. I don’t think he’ll be the last guy to take a shot” at coming back to college.
Not everyone would welcome Bailey’s return.
In December, NCAA president Charlie Baker said member colleges would not restore eligibility to players who had signed NBA contracts. Alabama’s Charles Bediako, who played in the G League on a two-way contract, won an injunction in state court that provided him a chance to compete for the Crimson Tide.
Some have cited inconsistencies in NCAA eligibility rules regarding players who have played professionally in the United States versus overseas. Baylor’s James Nnaji has been allowed to return to college even though he was a 2023 NBA draft pick who played professionally in Europe. Kirill Elatontsev, a 23-year-old center, was granted midseason eligibility at Oklahoma after having played professionally in Russia.
“In my opinion,” Cronin told the California Post, “if you don’t come to college before you’re 20½, all bets are off. You can’t come from Europe when you’re 21 because you elected to go pro. You could have come when you graduated high school, you’re a good player, and even if it was a mid-major and then [transfer] portal on up and get more money. So the problem now is, what’s the difference?
“The Russian guy’s playing pro and is now 23 years old and he goes to Oklahoma for a semester and he’s cleared? So to me, if you’re not in college by the time you’re 20½, you don’t get to play because what you’re going to find out is, there’s 500 20-and-up European guys ready to come this spring and take scholarships from Americans. Trust me.”
