Tony has a knack for finding underutilized bigs and turning them into stars. Heck, he even took a SoCon backup and developed him into a leading scorer.
Welcome James Nnaji!
- Thread starter emjayar08
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Keyshawn Hall went from hardly playing at UNLV to all-A10.
Amari Kelly washed out at Duquesne, played well at UNCW and blossomed into a bona fide impact player in his one year at Mason.
Jalen Haynes was third team all-SoCon, first team all-A10 at Mason and landed a 7-figure deal from Cincinnati
Riley Allenspach was vastly underutilized at Samford, spent one season in Fairfax and made second team all-A10.
Track record says our staff will be able to get the most out of Nnaji. With his tools, that is at minimum worth a dice roll with the 15th scholarship.
Amari Kelly washed out at Duquesne, played well at UNCW and blossomed into a bona fide impact player in his one year at Mason.
Jalen Haynes was third team all-SoCon, first team all-A10 at Mason and landed a 7-figure deal from Cincinnati
Riley Allenspach was vastly underutilized at Samford, spent one season in Fairfax and made second team all-A10.
Track record says our staff will be able to get the most out of Nnaji. With his tools, that is at minimum worth a dice roll with the 15th scholarship.
ESPN article that gives a good history of Nnaji's introduction to basketball and the reactions he faced when he joined Baylor.
I really want this to work out, but this kid is teetering on the edge of basketball irrelevance. How many chances do you get to show what you can do? Barely a splash at Baylor, and before that he averaged 15.8 minutes per game at Girona (transferred there from Barca) in the 2024-25 season across 14 games - by far his highest minutes load at any stop in his career - and still only managed 5.3 pts, 4.1 rebs, 0.8 blocks. How do you average only 4.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks as a decently athletic 7-footer? If @Pikapppatri8 was 7 feet tall and had a little coaching, I think it's possible he'd average more than that.
I'm sure he's worked out for all of the NBA teams that have held his rights - and now, here he is. I'm rooting for him, and Tony and the staff, to make this into something memorable. Worth a roll of the dice, for sure - but this doesn't make us the A10 favorite, as some have wondered.
I'm sure he's worked out for all of the NBA teams that have held his rights - and now, here he is. I'm rooting for him, and Tony and the staff, to make this into something memorable. Worth a roll of the dice, for sure - but this doesn't make us the A10 favorite, as some have wondered.
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Look forward to his match up with Jalen Haynes.
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So why didn't it work out at Baylor??
www.si.com
"For one, the FC Barcelona alum came to the Bears with a lingering lower back injury that he had not properly recovered from. This injury hindered not just his vertical movement but also his on-court speed and severely affected Nnaji’s conditioning. ".
He had not completely recovered from A back injury and surgery back in '24.
Tony and his staff has been looking at 6'11 all portal season. He looked at may 6 or 7 of them them before summer practice started. I am sure he did his homework Njali's health before offering.
He has a away of finding players coming off injuries who can contribute ..see Jahari Long.
How a Former NBA Player Made Baylor Basketball Worse
Center James Nnaji committed to Baylor as a mid-season addition in December, only to have one of the worst seasons of his career.
www.si.com
"For one, the FC Barcelona alum came to the Bears with a lingering lower back injury that he had not properly recovered from. This injury hindered not just his vertical movement but also his on-court speed and severely affected Nnaji’s conditioning. ".
He had not completely recovered from A back injury and surgery back in '24.
Tony and his staff has been looking at 6'11 all portal season. He looked at may 6 or 7 of them them before summer practice started. I am sure he did his homework Njali's health before offering.
He has a away of finding players coming off injuries who can contribute ..see Jahari Long.
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I remember hearing an interview where Tony said ideally you want a shot blocker in his defense. Looks like he got his wishSo why didn't it work out at Baylor??
How a Former NBA Player Made Baylor Basketball Worse
Center James Nnaji committed to Baylor as a mid-season addition in December, only to have one of the worst seasons of his career.
"For one, the FC Barcelona alum came to the Bears with a lingering lower back injury that he had not properly recovered from. This injury hindered not just his vertical movement but also his on-court speed and severely affected Nnaji’s conditioning. ".
He had not completely recovered from A back injury and surgery back in '24.
Tony and his staff has been looking at 6'11 all portal season. He looked at may 6 or 7 of them them before summer practice started. I am sure he did his homework Njali's health before offering.
He has an away of finding players coming off injuries who can contribute ..see Jahari Long.
EK is a very good shot blocker, but Nnaji does provide a legit 7-foot paint presence against teams with P4 size at the 5. Good to have that versatility and ability to match up with a wide variety of lineups.
From that same si article:So why didn't it work out at Baylor??
How a Former NBA Player Made Baylor Basketball Worse
Center James Nnaji committed to Baylor as a mid-season addition in December, only to have one of the worst seasons of his career.
"For one, the FC Barcelona alum came to the Bears with a lingering lower back injury that he had not properly recovered from. This injury hindered not just his vertical movement but also his on-court speed and severely affected Nnaji’s conditioning. ".
He had not completely recovered from A back injury and surgery back in '24.
Tony and his staff has been looking at 6'11 all portal season. He looked at may 6 or 7 of them them before summer practice started. I am sure he did his homework Njali's health before offering.
He has a away of finding players coming off injuries who can contribute ..see Jahari Long.
"....
His biggest flaw in Waco was a pure unfamiliarity with the nature and pace of the college game combined with Baylor’s desperation to “win-now.”
Baylor needed an immediate impact, while it was clear that Nnaji was a project to take on from the moment he touched the hardwood.
The relationship between Nnaji and Baylor almost seemed doomed from the start. The expectations of the program did not meet what the player needed to thrive at the time.
A bad date does not take someone out of the game but rather encourages them to look for a better fitting partner. Baylor and James Nnaji spent the second half of the season experiencing their own bad first date, resulting in both parties realizing they needed to find something different.
Now committed to George Mason, I believe that Nnaji will pan out to be a competent starting center in college basketball. With time and experience, the Nigerian center who has dominated European basketball for the past three years will take over the Atlantic 10 conference in due time.
The James Nnaji experiment at Baylor failed, yet that does not mean that James Nnaji is a failure."
Welp... this guy has three years of eligibility remaining, yes? Let's work him up and hope he stays for all three seasons. As long as he's not a fouling machine then having Nnaji on the roster is net positive.
Plus, being at Baylor, James had seen what it takes to play well at the P4 level. So, in terms quality of play, he knows where he needs to be—just gotta Cowboy-up and get there.
Plus, being at Baylor, James had seen what it takes to play well at the P4 level. So, in terms quality of play, he knows where he needs to be—just gotta Cowboy-up and get there.
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Normally I support what you post. But, in the case...... Who have we kept for 3 seasons? LOL. If he's any good he'll be gone after next year. If he's not, he'll be gone after next year. The college game is a shell of what it used to be.
We've kept BOC, fwiw.
With a year off due to injury or he'd be gone too.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pM6Y8HkJzU
Maybe his dunks. Imo, Mike was a little more crafty down low. Very similar though.
Yeah... hope is hope.
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