The new five-in-five rule is one of the NCDAA's best attempts to stem the tide of madness that has been college sports over the last two or three years. Basically, it eliminates most exceptions by giving athletes five years of eligibility in five seasons. No more redshirt seasons and no more extra seasons if you went to a junior college for a year.
It also restricts international players who are older or have played several seasons of professional ball overseas. This rule will probably prevent 24-year-old Kansas basketball commit, center Mihailo Musikic, from ever playing for the Jayhawks. Though this negatively affects KU and Musikic, it is a pretty good rule.
But not every rule is perfect. It did not grandfather in those seniors who played four years and graduated this past May. Several players sued the NCAA and regained another year back. It also did not grandfather in international players already on rosters before this rule went into force. This is the part that hurts KU and Paul Mbiya.
How did the five-in-five rule hurt Kansas basketball's Paul Mbiya?
In 2023-24 and 2024-25, Mbiya played in the French Pro A league and for the ASVEL U21 team, according to the KU Athletics website. Because of that, and his advanced age (21) for his class, Mbiya is now listed as a junior instead of a sophomore on the Kansas basketball roster page.
Despite playing only one season of college basketball, Mbiya will lose that fifth year of eligibility. Last year, Mbiya played sparingly, seeing action in just 21 games and averaging five minutes a game. He improved throughout the season, especially defensively, but was somewhat of a raw talent on offense.
More will be expected of him this year. He was initially slated to back up transfer Christian Reeves, but the latter's availability for the start of the season is in doubt. Mbiya will probably be called on to play more minutes at center, especially if Musikic isn't cleared by the NCAA. KU is currently recruiting Jaxson Kohler, one of the players who regained a year of eligibility. If Kohler is added to the roster, he'd most likely share minutes with Mbiya until Reeves is healthy, then the three of them would divvy up the playing time.
Regardless, Mbiya is still developing as a player. He has plenty of tools, but they will need to be improved before he is ready for the next level.
One of the reasons this rule hurt Mbiya in particular is that he chose to stay at Kansas when he had other options. He was one of only two Jayhawks from last year's roster who stayed, along with Kohl Rosario. He went against his agent's advice to stay at KU because he was comfortable.
No one knows how fast Mbiya will develop or if he will ever be good enough to play in the NBA. If he decided to stay at Kansas all four years, he would probably be ready for the next level, but now he knows he must be ready by then, or sooner even. He will not get a chance at a fifth season in college.
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