Bulls' two-way talent Trentyn Flowers navigates NCAA eligibility hurdles. Will his pro experience unlock college basketball's next frontier?
The Chicago Bulls' two-way player, Trentyn Flowers, has drawn interest from multiple college programs, as Recruits News first reported on Saturday.
Flowers became one of the Bulls' three two-way players, alongside Emmanuel Miller and Lachlan Olbrich, after Chicago waived Japanese international Yuki Kawamura. He's primarily played with the Windy City Bulls, the team's G League affiliate, averaging 13.0 points and 6.8 rebounds in 28.2 minutes this season.
Flowers played at four high schools before reclassifying from the class of 2024 to 2023 and committing to Louisville. In August 2023, he decommitted to join the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian NBL's Next Stars program. After appearing in 18 games and averaging 5.2 points while dealing with knee and neck injuries, Flowers declared for the 2024 NBA Draft. He went undrafted but signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Clippers in July 2024. After appearing in just six NBA games while averaging 17.7 points in 40 G League games with the San Diego Clippers, the Clippers waived him on October 14, 2025.
Dec 4, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Trentyn Flowers (9) drives to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley (10) during the fourth quarter at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn ImagesAccording to On3's Tipton, though the NCAA has opened the door for several G League players — such as Thierry Darlan and London Johnson, both G League Ignite products who enrolled at Santa Clara and Louisville — Flowers, who has played a combined eight NBA games with the Clippers and Bulls, hasn't been granted college eligibility yet.
While 11 schools reportedly showed interest, Tipton followed up on Sunday that five schools — Florida, Michigan, Clemson, Indiana, and Texas — are not expected to recruit Flowers.
The NCAA's increasing flexibility in granting college eligibility has sparked controversy recently. Earlier this week, James Nnaji, who was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 2023 NBA Draft and appeared in the Summer League that year, committed to Baylor and will play the second half of the Bears' season. The Nigerian international was granted four years of eligibility by the NCAA, per On3's report.
On the same day before Flowers' report emerged, former Bulls player Kenneth Lofton Jr., who had stints with multiple NBA teams and currently plays for the Shanghai Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association, announced his return to Louisiana Tech on social media, where he played college basketball for two years before declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft.
Nothing has been decided yet, but if the NCAA grants eligibility to Flowers, it would be revolutionary amid their increasing flexibility. This situation differs significantly from Nnaji's — the 7-foot center never played an NBA game despite being drafted and appearing in the Summer League. Flowers, however, has played actual NBA games under two-way contracts with the Clippers and Bulls. Granting eligibility to someone who has already competed at the professional level would set an unprecedented move that reshapes the boundaries between professional and college basketball.