Baylor University’s Nigerian-born sensation, James Ugochukwu Nnaji has thrown forward a strong hint that he will most likely quit the institution based in Waco, Texas to continue his career elsewhere.
Sports247 gathered that, though no official comment has come from the player or his school, a strong hint has a emerge that Nnaji, who controversially joined The Bears mid-season, plans to hit the transfers portal.
The 7-foot center, who was initially selected in the 2023 NBA Draft, appeared in 18 games for the Baylor Bears’ team that finished 13th in The Big 12, during which he averaged 1.4 points in 8.2 minutes.
Nnaji, a 21-year-old freshman who was born on August 14th, 2004 in Makurdi, Benue State, was No. 31 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, but returned to school in mid-season, as The Bears desperately brought him to help their front-court in the past campaign.
He went on to play an average of eight minutes per game across 18 contests, during which his presence ended up creating more controversy than productivity, though he had previously been at Barcelona of Spain in 2020.
He, therefore, became the first NBA draft pick to play college basketball, but the sports board at Baylor University later clarified that Nnaji never signed an NBA deal, as Detroit Pistons waived his contract soon after they drafted him.
His rights were traded to Charlotte Hornets on draft day, but he never played for them as well, only for him to rejoin the draft again in 2024 and moved to New York Knicks as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, yet that also fell through.
National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) later confirmed that, although Nnaji featured in some NBA Summer League games for The Hornets and Knicks last year, he never appeared in a full-fledged regular-season fixture.
However, with the storm at Baylor apparently becoming too much for Nnaji to bear, the controversial forward is ready to move on, with information out of God’s Own Country indicating that he is already trying to find a new home.
