Former NBA champion and All the Smoke co-host Matt Barnes isn’t holding back when it comes to what he sees as a growing loophole in college sports—and his comments are landing right in the middle of the ongoing Diego Pavia eligibility debate.
Barnes recently aimed at the NCAA for allowing former professional basketball players to return to college and compete against much younger athletes.
His comments were sparked by Kyree Walker, a former G League player who announced plans to enroll at a Division I school and use the college eligibility he bypassed years ago.
“Once you take your amateur status to a pro status, you shouldn’t be able to come back and be a grown a** man playing,” Barnes said. “Let’s keep it real, these guys aren’t good enough to play at the highest level. So, if I can’t play with these grown men in the NBA, overseas, let me go back and try to play with these kids and make money. Which is stupid as f**k to me, but I get it. I’m not blaming the players because it’s a loophole that needs to be fixed.”
Walker, now 25, was a three-star recruit who played alongside future NBA stars like Jonathan Kuminga and Anthony Edwards in high school.
After committing to Arizona State, he chose the professional route, spending time in the G League with the Capital City Go-Go and later playing overseas in Greece, Canada, and Mongolia. Now, several years into a pro career, Walker is attempting to enter the NCAA ranks.
For Barnes, that’s where the problem lies.
“March Madness was the funnest basketball in the country,” he said. “But when you turn on March Madness, and you see these old a** dudes… If I wanted to see old a** dudes that aren’t good enough to go to the NBA, I’ll go to the park. I’ll go to a pickup game. I don’t want to watch March Madness with these old a** players that are 26 years old, beating up on 18-year-olds.”
Those comments arrive as college football faces a parallel fight over eligibility. Pavia, Vanderbilt’s standout quarterback, is currently suing the NCAA alongside other former JUCO players, arguing that eligibility limits unfairly restrict how long they can play at the Division I level.
Pavia’s case challenges rules that count junior college seasons toward NCAA eligibility, potentially cutting short careers even as other athletes—such as former professional basketball players—are granted more flexibility.
The NCAA has maintained that eligibility rules are meant to preserve competitive balance and align athletics with the traditional college timeline. Barnes’ criticism, however, highlights growing tension across college sports, where older, more experienced athletes are increasingly sharing the field—or court—with teenagers.