With the case of former NBA player Charles Bediako, who was deemed eligible to return to play college basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide this season, another NBA player is seeking to return to college ball at this time, too.
But this player happened to play for one of college basketball’s greatest schools.
NBA Player Wants To Return to UCLA
On Friday, former UCLA Bruins player Amari Bailey wants to return to college basketball after spending time in the NBA.
While Bediako returned to Alabama, he never actually played in the NBA. Bediako played in G-League action. Bailey also played in the G-League and took the court as an NBA player for the Charlotte Hornets. Bailey was drafted as the No. 41 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Hornets.
Bailey told ESPN’s Dan Murphy that “he is attempting to become the first basketball player to return to college after playing in NBA games,” according to an On3 report.
In the 2022-23 college basketball season, Bailey played a role in getting the Bruins into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament before UCLA was eliminated. Bailey averaged 11.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game for the Bruins. He also shot 49.5% from the floor and 38.9% from beyond the 3-point arc.
“Right now I’d be a senior in college,” Bailey told ESPN in an interview. “I’m not trying to be 27 years old playing college athletics. No shade to the guys that do; that’s their journey. But I went to go play professionally and learned a lot, went through a lot. So like, why not me?”
Bailey, 21, would be in his fourth collegiate basketball season if he had stayed at UCLA. In his NBA experience, Bailey appeared in 10 games for the Hornets in his rookie season. Bailey averaged 2.3 points in 6.5 minutes per game.
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Bailey also signed with the Brooklyn Nets in September 2024, but the team waived him in October. Bailey also played for G-League teams such as the Greensboro Swarm, Long Island Nets, and Iowa Wolves.
According to data from the Rivals Industry Rankings, Bailey was a five-star prospect and the No. 12 overall player in the 2022 college basketball recruiting cycle. Bailey added that he’d be reaching out to other teams, as he wants to play on a team competing for a national championship.
Bailey will look to get back into college basketball at this point.