Trinity men’s basketball sent shockwaves through the Division III world when they announced San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is set to join the team for the upcoming season. Wembanyama played professional basketball in France prior to being drafted first overall by the Spurs, and he never played college basketball. As a result, Wembanyama has not used any of his collegiate eligibility.
“I love watching March Madness and the passion the schools play with,” Wembanyama said. “It’s the type of thing you just want to be a part of, and I think I can do that here for Trinity.”
The logistics for Wembanyama’s tenure with Trinity are unprecedented, as he intends to split time with Trinity basketball and the Spurs. He will go back and forth between conflicting games, he said. Wembanyama attempted to dodge the three-year on campus living requirement by citing his professional status with the Spurs. However, Residential Life promptly denied his claim as he did not have enough transferable hours to register as a senior. Despite his issues with living in Herndon, Wembanyama said he sees this as an opportunity to develop his game.
“I wanted to be in a situation where I could play as much as possible,” Wembanyama said. “Practice can be boring sometimes, and I thought this was a chance to replace some of those with an actual game. And hey, if I get to average 50 points and 20 blocks a game, that’s all the better.”
Narwan “Stone” Elstonabawy, Trinity’s head men’s basketball coach, will now have the tallest person to ever play Division III basketball at his disposal. Many critics predict Trinity to finish first in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) next season and to begin the season as the No. 1 team in the country.
“We love the expectations that come with getting a player like Wemby,” Elstonabawy said. “I almost think it’s unfair. It was hard enough for people to scheme against Jack Penn and Jean Ballo, and now we bring in this guy. Good luck.”
While the move to bring in Wembanyama is official, many SAA coaches are questioning its legality. No player on a professional contract has ever been recruited to a college team at any level, and other SAA programs, like the Rhodes College Lynx, reportedly plan to file an appeal to the NCAA. However, the appeals process often takes time and the slow, grinding gears of the NCAA might give the Tigers a full season with Wembanyama.
“We’ve got our best people on this,” Elstonabawy said. “The lawyers, the board members, I think even the philosophy professors are finding an angle to extend this. We understand the legitimacy of the claim, but we will drag this thing out until May of 2027. It’s so great to see the Trinity community all come together in this way to help us win a national title.”
As Trinity and their lawyers dig in for a year-long stall tactic, it seems Wembanyama will be on the floor for Trinity next season. The question still remains how many of the Tigers’ 25 regular season games will he play, and if it will be enough to win the program’s first national title.
