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The NCAA has spent the past few years skidding down the slippery slope that formed when it ushered in the NIL Era. It has introduced yet another twist thanks to a policy that allows basketball players who’ve spent time in the G League to head back to college despite firmly shedding their amateur status, and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo made it very clear he is not a fan of that decision.
The NCAA spent more than a century doing everything in its power to preserve the sanctity of the amateurism that formerly served as the foundation of college sports. The lengths it went to in order to prevent student-athletes from getting paid ranged from “overzealous” to “borderline authoritarian,” but those efforts created a clear divide between the sports it oversees and their professional counterparts.
However, it essentially waved the white flag on that front in the wake of the landmark Supreme Court ruling that opened the door for players to get compensated for their name, image, and likeness starting in 2021. That decision has had a dramatic impact on the landscape of college sports while turning the transfer portal into a revolving door and sparking new challenges to eligibility rules thanks to players trying to milk NIL for all it’s worth.
It has also resulted in a growing trend on the college basketball front courtesy of players who’ve spent time in the G League only to announce their plans to head back to school—a development one legendary head coach is not thrilled with.
Tom Izzo went off on the NCAA for letting basketball players who’ve spent time in the G League return to a college program
The NCAA’s Division I manual contains some pretty clear-cut language regarding eligibility and its mission of “maintaining a clear line of demarcation between college athletics and professional sports.”
That’s a fairly farcical claim for the governing body to make in this day and age, but it nontheless says players are no longer eligible to play in college if they’ve received “any kind of payment, directly or indirectly, for athletics participation” from a professional team aside from what it describes as “actual and necessary expenses” (i.e. lodging, meals, and insurance).
That essentially means any player who has received a salary from a pro franchise should not be eligible for a spot on a college roster. However, the NCAA has made some exceptions for basketball players who’ve played for teams overseas, which opened the door for Thierry Darlan and London Johnson—two players who have both spent multiple seasons with NBA affiliates in the G League—recently announcing their plans to commit, respectively, to Santa Clara and Louisville.
Darlan’s decision generated a fair amount of discussion when the news broke in September, but London’s commitment received noticeably more attention earlier this week thanks in no small part to the fact he’s planning on joining a Cardinals team that heads into the season sitting at #11 midway through the campaign.
Tom Izzo got the chance to chime in on that development on Tuesday during a lengthy rant where he went off on the NCAA for seemingly giving up on maintaining any semblance of amateurism while bemoaning the current state of affairs
“To me, it’s ridiculous. To me, it’s embarrassing.”
Tom Izzo’s thoughts on Louisville signing a player with multiple years of G League experience.
Question via @chrissolari @wilxTV https://t.co/0ywBGQKouE pic.twitter.com/rLIOpeCjdF
— Ben Shockley (@BenShockley_) October 22, 2025
Izzo joked about calling Magic Johnson, Jaren Jackson, Miles Bridges, and other notable Michigan State products who’ve spent time in the NBA while tearing into the powers that be, saying:
“I listen to people talk about how kids changed. Kids aren’t the problem. We’re the problem. This was sprung on us again yesterday where a guy can be in the G League for two or three years and then all of a sudden, he’s eligible.
Most of my people knew nothing about it. I’m not real excited about the NCAA or whoever is making these decisions, without talking to us, just letting it go because they’re afraid they’re going to get sued….
What about the freshmen you recruited there? That’s somebody’s son and he thinks he’s got himself a good place, and all of a sudden, shazam, they pull out of their hat and bring a 21- or 22-year-old in. To me, it’s ridiculous. To me, it’s embarrassing…
I don’t respect whoever made those decisions because they’re afraid their lawyer’s gonna sue ’em. Sooner or later, you gotta fight the fight.”
That’s just a taste of what he had to say during a screed that went on for four minutes, but it does not sound like a former G League player will be playing at Michigan State at any point in the near future.