Former Georgetown and Arizona guard James Akinjo has received a waiver that will allow him to play for the Baylor Bears this season. Akinjo left Georgetown in 2019 to play for Arizona. After Sean Miller was fired he decided to head to Baylor, the defending national champs.
BREAKING: James Akinjo has received NCAA waiver to play this season at Baylor, source told @Stadium. Akinjo started his career at Georgetown, transferred to Arizona a year ago. He averaged 15.6 points and 5.4 assists last season for Arizona. Huge addition for the defending champs
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 30, 2021
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and with a major coaching change at Arizona, a waiver was likely to be granted. The NCAA has become much laxer with waivers to transfers as the NCAA transforms into something new. With NIL rights and other changes college sports have had to adapt. Akinjo is a talented guard who averaged almost 16 points and 6 assists for Arizona.
While at Georgetown, Akinjo averaged 13.4 points per game and around 5 assists per game. He is an excellent free throw shooter and has really developed his three-point shooting. On defense, he can guard the perimeter and averaged 1.4 steals per game at Arizona.
The Baylor Bears won the 2020 NCAA Championship with an experienced team and are looking to repeat as champions with the same formula. Under coach Scott Drew they have a formula and a culture for winning and may be taking over the Big 12 from the Kansas Jayhawks.
Expect more players to bounce around like Akinjo, and embrace it. Player freedom and movement will only make for better and happier players on the court.
