A player who suited up in an NBA game just three weeks ago could soon be playing college basketball. Sounds strange, right? But the NCAA’s increasingly lenient stance on recruiting players with NBA ties has shaken up the basketball world, testing new boundaries, exposing loopholes, and challenging rules that many scrambling programs see as outdated.

Trentyn Flowers came out of the 2023 class as a 6-foot-8 small forward with serious buzz, widely seen as a top-25 type talent. He originally committed to Louisville and even spent part of the summer with the program before changing directions completely.

Instead of heading into college hoops, Flowers chose the pro route, signing with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia’s NBL. After one season overseas, he entered the 2024 NBA Draft. However, he went undrafted.

Flowers then later picked up a two-way deal with the Los Angeles Clippers and their G League squad in San Diego. This season, he’s been on a similar two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls and their G League affiliate.

Now, with more former prep stars who went pro exploring a return to college basketball, Flowers has suddenly landed back on the NCAA radar. According to On3’s Joe Tipton, several high-major programs, including Washington, NC State, and USC, are showing interest.

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Still, per NCAA rules, it doesn’t and shouldn’t make sense.

This comes after Baylor stunned everyone by landing James Nnaji. He was the No. 31 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and had been playing professionally overseas before suddenly getting cleared to suit up for the Bears. The NCAA signing off on his eligibility felt like a line not many thought would be crossed. And, perhaps, it’s made schools rethink what’s actually possible now.

Unlike Nnaji, though, Flowers has already appeared in NBA games and has built up real time in the G League. The 20-year-old averaged 20.0 points and 5.1 rebounds with the Clippers’ G League team last season, and just recently put up close to 14 points and 7 rebounds per game in the G League Tip-Off Tournament.

Yet, power programs could realistically put more money on the table than what Flowers is earning on a two-way deal right now. On top of that, starring at the college level could help rebuild or even raise his NBA value.

With college basketball deep into its Wild West era, it’s almost impossible to predict how this will unfold. The old rules and the current reality clearly don’t align, leaving fans and several coaches frustrated.

Fans Astounded With Further Midseason Additions

“PSA: Every good basketball player in the world within five years of HS graduation who isn’t currently making at least a million dollars is drawing interest from college programs,” was what Sports Insider’s Kevin Sweeney had to say regarding the new arrangements being made.

 Well, a number of programs have tapped into the European pro market, while BYU brought in Abdullah Ahmed, a former G League big man who logged 54 games with the Westchester Knicks. Add to that G League Ignite guard London Johnson, who’s now set to start the next chapter of his career at Louisville. And now Trentyn Flowers. Clearly, the college basketball world seems to be shifting.

Yet, fans aren’t happy, as one said, “We can’t let this become the norm. It’s horrible for the sport.”

Still, former Georgia and Indiana head coach Tom Crean thinks this trend is only getting started, with plenty more on the way. “I think we will see a couple probably before the upcoming semester starts this year,” he told NJ Advance Media.

Former Alabama and NC State coach Mark Gottfried also shed light on how normal this is becoming, saying, “We have college basketball coaches, my friends, right now out there who are recruiting guys off of NBA rosters,”

“We need to investigate the NCAA,” one fan suggested, as another cautioned, “Is this what you wanted @JayBilas? Haven’t heard from you lately. NIL will eventually make college athletics unwatchable. The next step is all but the largest schools getting out of revenue sports. @MarchMadnessMBB will be a pro tournament in 10 years. But the players deserve it right? Tell that to a high school athlete who has no shot anymore. And where is the @NCAA? No sanctions or investigations in years. The end of college sports is here.”

If Flowers or another NBA player were to make the jump to college basketball, it would create a first-of-its-kind situation. A player going from the NBA back to college would flip the traditional path that most athletes grow up chasing. At the same time, changes in NCAA rules, shaped by NIL opportunities and a growing effort to keep top talent in the college game, have made these new pro-to-college routes an exciting prospect for many.

“The NCAA is totally clueless, lost,” Villanova coach Kevin Willard said last week. “It’s like, it’s a joke. I just tried to sign, like, a 47 year old Chinese guy in some European League. I’m sure he’ll get eligible.”

Besides that, Tom Izzo, who has been criticizing these moves since the beginning, cautioned about another harmful effect, saying that more coaches will be pushed out of the college system. “Has anybody looked up? It already has,” Izzo said.

And why not? After all, college basketball might not remain college basketball.

“College signings in late December is so wild,” an NBA executive also chimed in. “They basically have 2 1/2 months to get everything together into March.” The executive added: “If any of these [NBA] guys get cleared, they could completely change the NCAA Tournament.”

“At this point, if you’re a coach or school going after these players. I’m definitely judging. When you know something is wrong & you still look to do it yourself. Says a lot,” came another comment from a fan.

Well, early reports suggested that a long list of programs were poking around, including Kentucky, Michigan, BYU, Kansas, Washington, Texas Tech, Florida, USC, LSU, SMU, Indiana, and Clemson. That narrative shifted quickly, though. According to Matt Norlander, several schools pushed back hard on the idea that they were involved at all.

“FWIW, while some might be sniffing around, at least three programs named in this report tell CBS Sports they’ve shown ‘zero’ interest in pursuing Flowers,” Norlander wrote Sunday while citing an On3 post. “One adds: ‘Not even sure how we got on that list. No one on our staff has had any contact with anyone associated with him.’”

Norlander later shared more updates that only reinforced that message.

“Just received another text from another coach at one of the schools reported to be showing interest in Trentyn Flowers’ NCAA eligibility,” he wrote. “The head coach’s response: ‘Hahaha. None.’”

Shortly after that, Tipton revised his reporting, noting that Florida, Michigan, Clemson, Indiana, and Texas Tech were no longer expected to be involved. College basketball insider Adam Zagoria then added another team, saying that Kentucky was also “not expected to be in the mix for Trentyn Flowers.”

Against this shifting backdrop, Mark Pope was asked Tuesday about possibly bringing in a backup point guard as insurance for Jaland Lowe. He shut that idea down quickly. “We have a great roster. I’m not sure we’re shopping a lot right now, we have an unbelievable amount of faith in our guys.”

“Had to think after the James Nnaji news that there would be something more coming. Welp, here we are. Trentyn Flowers has logged minutes in EIGHT (8) NBA regular-season games. This is unreal,” came another X user’s comment, and this just shows you it’s not the end but just the beginning.

Just three weeks ago, on Dec. 7, Flowers logged four minutes and scored four points in the Chicago Bulls’ 123–91 loss to the Golden State Warriors. He also saw brief action in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 3. On top of that, Flowers appeared in six games for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2024–25 season, averaging 1.8 points and 0.7 rebounds in 4.5 minutes per game.

That’s why Tipton’s report caught so many people off guard. As he himself noted, players with NBA experience technically have not been granted NCAA eligibility so far. But, let’s be honest, that has not stopped college programs from at least exploring the idea.

Jazian Gortman is another recent example.

As Jeff Goodman had reported: “Told that several college coaches have reached out to Jazian Gortman’s camp to see if he would be interested in college. Gortman, 22, went the Overtime Elite route, went undrafted in 2023, has played 16 NBA games and is currently in the G-League now. Told that Gortman is not interested in the college route.”

So far, even though the 6-foot-8 wing has not been granted eligibility, the NCAA has appeared relatively relaxed about the situation as a whole. Whether growing criticism eventually forces the NCAA to step in, or whether things continue as they are, remains to be seen. The answers should start to surface in the coming months.