Legal experts weigh in as NCAA grapples with college basketball eligibility issue

Despite an outcry from collegiate coaches, the NCAA may have a tough time keeping NBA players who have logged a minimal amount of minutes at the pro level from returning to college and playing, according to legal experts.

Word broke late last month that former Charlotte Hornets guard Amari Bailey, who played one season at UCLA, is trying to become the first player to come back to college and play after playing in NBA games.

To date, this hot-button NCAA eligibility issue has primarily centered on professional players who competed internationally or in the NBA's G League. However, Bailey's attempt to return to the collegiate level puts this topic even more in the spotlight, as he has appeared in 10 NBA games.

Because college athletes now earn direct payments from their schools, the result of last year's House antitrust settlement, the line has been blurred between professional and amateur players.

While the NCAA's senior vice president for external affairs, Tim Buckley, recently wrote the NCAA "will not grant eligibility to any players who have signed an NBA contract," legal experts say that may not matter, because NBA players trying to return to college likely will prevail in court, provided the players fall within the NCAA's five-year eligibility window.

Will NBA players be able to return to NCAA college basketball?

In the wake of the Bailey news, attorney Darren Heitner, who is the founder of Heitner Legal PLLC in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., says that numerous players and agents have reached out to him regarding the issue of former NBA players regaining their collegiate eligibility. Heitner is not representing Bailey.

In an exchange on X, Heitner noted that "NCAA rules allow players to compete on pro teams, provided the players do not receive more than actual and necessary expenses to participate on the teams. The problem for the NCAA is that the rule has been arbitrarily applied."

The dilemma for the NCAA is that there's not much of a difference between a professional who plays minimally in the NBA and an international pro or a G League player, legal experts say.

"Pro is pro," Heitner wrote. "If it’s truly about amount of money received, then a hard line on logging an NBA minute or signing an NBA contract is tough for the NCAA to defend."

Attorney Mit Winter with Kennyhertz Perry LLC in Kansas City, Mo., wrote on X after the Bailey development broke, "We may soon have a former college player who has played in NBA games coming back to college. With the waivers the NCAA has previously granted to G League players, foreign pros, and a draftee & with the Bediako case as legal precedent, it may be hard for the NCAA to prevail here."

Charles Bediako, a senior center at Alabama, had played in the G League, but last month, a judge granted him a temporary restraining order that has allowed him to return to the Crimson Tide and play in college, at least for the time being.