"Get out of college": NBA legends encourage NBL move

In recent weeks, the NCAA outlined that they are looking at changing the eligibility requirements for incoming students, which includes a number of NBL talents.

The most significant of these changes will affect student-athletes who “entered an agreement with, competed on or received compensation from a team that participates in a league with minimum compensation that exceeds actual and necessary expenses.”

Simply put, if you have played in a professional basketball league, it will be highly unlikely that you will have your college eligibility reinstated.

While this could impact NBL players such as South East Melbourne’s Owen Foxwell and Brisbane’s Tristan Devers, who had committed to Wisconsin and Washington, respectively, some NBA legends believe it could have a positive impact on the League.

During a recent episode of All The Smoke podcast, 10-time All-Star and NBL Next Stars ambassador Carmelo Anthony and 2003 NBA champion Stephen Jackson weighed in on the issue and encouraged the older athletes to head to Australia and play in the NBL.

“All you 25-year-olds that still want to go to college, I got a League for you in Australia right now, the NBL,” Anthony said.

“You can go over there, you can play and you can get paid.

“Get out of college, there's no way a 25 or 26-year-old should be playing against an 18-year-old high school kid.”

Jackson, who played with the Sydney Kings in 1998, echoed his fellow panellists' thoughts.

“I played in the NBL, that's my League too. I'm a part of that, so get your arse over there,” Jackson said.

In a statement made to Sports Illustrated, an NCAA spokesperson said this was part of the future to make things fairer for college sports.

“The Association is modernising the rule book in several ways to ensure college sports are played by college athletes and not used as a fallback for professional athletes, and the age-based eligibility model now under consideration is designed to address many member schools’ concerns regarding eligibility.”

It is currently uncertain how quickly or how forcefully these changes will be brought in, which could have a cloud weighing over the future of some of the NBL’s brightest young stars.

“Guys like Owen Foxwell and Tristan Devers should not be suddenly punished for taking advantage of the ridiculous rules the NCAA originally had in place,” 2018 NBL champion Pete Hooley said.

“These young kids have made huge career decisions based on the fact that the NCAA had been allowing them to do so. So, any immediate change that would leave them high and dry is completely unfair.”

As Foxwell and Devers had already ticked all the required boxes to become eligible, there's hope they will still be allowed to continue forward, as colleges have been aware of this since May 8, and yet continued to recruit the young Australians.

However, other potential young stars like Mojave King, Ben Henshall and even former NBL Next Stars could suddenly be in limbo.