Being a professional basketball player generally disqualifies an athlete from receiving an NCAA or NAIA athletic scholarship for college basketball. So I'd highly doubt this is true.

Honestly no idea if there is any change now that NIL is a thing, but I'd be surprised if so.

I thought all that got changed when it all went to court a few years ago. The great Andrew Gaze did it years back. I'm not saying the rumour is true but there is ways around it.

The new NIL rules essentially take out the playing pro component.
So long as he hasn't exhausted academic (lol I know) component , guys in this situation can go to college later now it seems.

It will be interesting what type of precedent it sets

Stumbled across a documentary on Gaze a while ago and remember him saying he didn't get paid in early days playing for Tigers. Not sure whether he earned anything playing basketball before his college stint?

Obviously things have changed since then

Yeh I heard in the ball pack of 500k he is being offered- this is all if he doesn't get drafted this seaoson. After this finals series performance last week, maybe this may be the best option now before declaring again.

Calling bullshit on this. Unless the wildcats aren't paying him, unlikely, he can't play. Be like if one of the next stars came over, didn't really work out so Kentucky signs them the next year to a NIL deal.

And back in the Gaze NBL days they'd get petrol money, either a carton of VB or Winnie Blues, schnitzel at the local and a drinks card at local club. NCAA were really hot on it back then, not saying a few envelopes weren't passed around in the change rooms afterwards.

Even now I've known Div 2 junior colleges worried if a kid had played a few nbl1 games.

Not sure where you heard it, but would love to see it in black and white.

NIL and especially the transfer portal has ruined college basketball, they should be able to make money, but it's like the wild west these days. I think
Oscar Tshiebwe took a paycut to go to the NBA.

But here is one of the rules.
Amateurism Requirements: The NCAA generally prohibits athletes who have received payment or signed contracts in a particular sport from competing in that same sport at the collegiate level. However, exceptions may apply if the athlete did not receive more than actual and necessary expenses while competing professionally before enrollment.

The rules around payments are going to be relaxed heading into next season due to the huge money now available for NIL.

I could mean we see Aussies go the dp/rostered route out of high school for a year or 2 then head over to college, much like it was 20+ years ago.

Throw in the potential where junior college doesn't count towards ncaa etc eligibility, college is about to get older and richer.
Looking forward to a lot of players coming out of it with PhD’s with how long they can be there for

I think with the NIL its still not allowed for the players to get paid to play ball. The deals are sponsorship deals that the player can work out with the brand in question but it can't be with the college.

Now in practice, we know some sponsors will be like "if you play for X college we'll give you a deal worth this much" but its still not a deal for playing which probably still means full time pro players going to college is unlikely.

I think Olgun and Hooley suggested on a Marketplace pod that Rocco might consider this path.

Rocco is a professional player, he is NOT eligible to play college basketball, those two know the rules so would love a link to that podcast.
DPs can head to college as long as they don't receive unjustified payments.
So someone like Toohey can't suddenly recommit to Gonzaga.
Players may go and play another another sport like JR Smith and golf, and a few baseball players that returned to football for example.

I think you can be a professional ie get paid before your college clock starts, which is the first opportunity past graduating high school - August following year.
So if Rocco finished year 12 in Dec 2024 he might still be eligble for college.
As pointed out all the rules have either changed or are likely to change.

The rules are changing....

Fs, it's not hard. If you have been paid as a professional athlete in that sport you cannot be considered amateur so the NCAA won't let you play.
And that rule won't be changing otherwise players will be flip flopping between the NBA, Europe, NBL and college.
Luka was playing professionally at what age yet somehow the big colleges missed him?
Can just google it if you can't grasp the concept.

The rules are changing.....they can be changed. These guys are being recruited because the rules are changing.

It's not a hard concept to grasp.

There are also rules cha going regarding anything outside of d1 won’t count for eligibility.

There used to be different rules around wearing of seatbelts to, but there was a time where they changed……

And that rule won't be changing otherwise players will be flip flopping between the NBA, Europe, NBL and college.
Luka was playing professionally at what age yet somehow the big colleges missed him?

Just because something can be changed doesn't mean it will. They could change the number of players on court to 4. They could change the person to shoot foul shots in the last minute to be the head coach. They could change to unlimited fouls. Not going to happen, not a hard concept.
Nil was brought in because because of lawsuits about colleges benefitting financially from players who received nothing. In 21 the supreme Court ruled in favour so nil was created. Seatbelts were made mandatory because they proved the save lives. Both deemed necessary. Coming to play college because being a pro isn't necessary, they can still attend class. And the whole point of nil is the school doesn't directly pay the player, they're just able to profit from likeness in terms of sponsorship, not receiving an income from an institution.
Making college a semi professional league is just stupid. Yes, it is possible, but people were crapping on about Henshall and Rocco playing college next year, that is not possible. The only rule that they are looking at changing is granting a 5th year, not bringing in professionals.

I'm interested to see how this plays out, I thought the rules changed as well but I certainly don’t know the answers.

With the way things are going with the world, tariffs, wanting Canada to be a US state, taking Greenland, turning Gaza into a tourist resort then anything is possible. Maybe they do grant a hardship rule that if someone that isn't drafted and/or fails at professional level then they can return if they have eligibility, maybe an age cap. Else someone like Carmelo Anthony can return and play with his son and not have to do what LeBron did.
The NCAA and institutions made billions off amateur athletics, just look at the Fab Five. The old arguments about free education, board, food etc was always wheeled out. And scholarships for guys at the end of the bench. Or how popular sports like basketball and football were financing the less profitable sports that didn't bring in money. So I guess NIL is the best solution, instead of the brown envelope or mum and dad suddenly getting a new house or cars, or a tractor like Blue Chips, it's at least transparent.l now.
Going straight from high school was abolished because for every Kobe or Garnett, there were dozens that weren't ready and the NCAA were losing them and the NBA were prepared to wait at least 1 year before getting them in draft, so one and done was official. Then players started going overseas, so the NBA brought in the ignite which had some flaws to compete with overseas leagues.
The transfer portal is what's ruining it all. Small schools develop a player for a couple of years, big school wants an experienced and mature player, they walk right onto team. Before they normally had to sit out a year. But if you watch a game now, half the team are transfers, and even kids that enter the portal don't get picked up so lose their scholarship due to bad advice.
So I'm truly interested in how this new rule allowing professionals to play college will work, Billy Bob, can you please explain since you seem to know how it's going to work if it's not a hard concept?

There will be rules on age limits to finish your eligibility, there will be a window of when you can start and when you can finish, much like it was years ago, Ben Hunt a good example, started at his college a few years out of school here and spent time in SEABL and nbl dp if remember correctly.

Spoken to a gm at a high major school that can confirm they are looking at nbl guys now that will fit in the age criteria.

I'm not saying I’m a fan of new nil and all of this. But it’s a rapidly changing landscape. Coaches want to win, and they have figured out you win with older guys, and guys can make good money staying in college now. Like the big guy from unc that used every inch of eligibility, where as 5-10 years ago he would have bailed for the draft

Billy Bob, are the players they are looking at DP or paid professionals? Plenty of players have been on rosters and gone to college but are strictly looked at if they received any financial benefits, which they wouldn't have. Recruiting those players is hardly new, plus there's the academic qualifications as well.
Div 1 college players can't even come home over break and play nbl1 unless they changed that recently because it's semi professional.
Sorry, I'm still confused about your answer and how guys like Henshall and Rocco would be eligible???

Paid guys like henshall and Rocco can be recruited, so long as they are going to fit into the eligibility on time to do a degree per ncaa afaik, laughable I know.

Old rules where a lot of Aussies went a year or two after college it was something like so long as you could graduate by 24 or something you could enrol.

So if these guys get to 23 they wouldn't be able to go as they wouldn’t finish a degree in the window.
Basically if they are young enough they are are on the table.

Still a long way to go with rules but it’s coming. Some young euro guys that have been paid are generating recruiting interest too. Kid from one of the Nordic countries is getting heavily recruited with nil money atm also.