SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Alone in Santa Clara’s practice gym, Thierry Darlan reaches up and grabs onto the bottom of the net with two left fingers. He crosses his left leg over the right and stands with right hand on hip, looking comfortable and beaming as he ponders all he has endured to reach this very place.
A place where he feels at home, across the world from family but with people who have provided that same comfort and support. A place where all of college basketball is watching because Darlan is making history: He's the first former NBA G League player to go from the pros to a college court, the opposite of a typical progression.
Darlan started school in September at age 21 after being granted two years of collegiate eligibility by the NCAA.
“My case is very different, people don’t really know the rules,” he said. “For me playing in the G League is kind of like the NBA. Coming back to college is really unique. It has been really beneficial for me because I’ve learned so many new things, so many new rules about college basketball.”
A long road going back to school
Darlan has followed his sports dream from the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal and the Basketball Africa League, to the G League Ignite and Delaware Blue Coats, and, now, the West Coast Conference playing for veteran coach Herb Sendek. It’s a journey that would have been practically unheard of in the days before deals for name, image and likeness that pay some student-athletes millions.
“His courage is remarkable, starting when he was a very young man leaving his home country and going to the NBA Academy,” Sendek said. “Then as still a very young man coming to a different continent and landing not in a nurturing college environment but in the G League, going through incredible adversity there, including dislocating his ankle, having his team disbanded, he now comes onto a college campus. All this before he’s 20 years old and the pressures that accompany that journey each step along the way. And he’s remained so pure through it all. He hasn’t been jaded. He’s still full of joy and full of hope.”
If Darlan is stressed by any part of the attention he receives because of his situation, you wouldn’t know it. He is determined to rebuild himself at his own pace after that devastating ankle injury in February 2023.
Even all these years later, Darlan gets up many mornings anxious about another daunting day being on his own across the world from everything familiar.
“Sometimes when you wake up in the morning you don’t even want to speak English, you don’t even want to think English and all those things,” said Darlan, who also speaks his native Sango from the Central African Republic and French. "You don’t have a choice, you’ve got to do it because everyone around you speaks English.”
He makes a point of saying his daily prayers in English, knowing it’s good practice. And the nerves typically ease once he’s out and about in his element on campus.
“I really love it, it’s a really amazing experience for me,” Darlan said. “I haven’t been in class for a while, since I was in Central African Republic, and for me going back to class is really cool."
Building toward the next step
The 6-foot-8 guard hopes a long NBA career lies ahead on his groundbreaking path — one that other college coaches are already exploring to build rosters in these topsy-turvy times of constant transfer-portal exits and NBA pursuits. Louisville announced last month the addition of former G League point guard London Johnson, who will join the team during the winter and redshirt this season then play in 2026-27.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr can’t wait to see how Darlan continues to develop. Kerr watched him three years ago in Cairo when Darlan earned MVP honors at the Basketball Without Borders camp, calling him “a hell of a talent, really talented guy.”
Darlan pulled his name out of the NBA draft pool last year to pursue his education and give himself a solid backup plan. During the summer of 2024, Darlan averaged 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds playing for his hometown Bangui Sporting Club — both numbers good for eighth in the Basketball Africa League.
He is coming off the bench so far for the Broncos (7-1), averaging 5.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 20.5 minutes per game.
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Darlan has gone from work visa to visitor’s visa to now student visa.
“When you’re the first to do something it’s extremely nerve-racking, even if there weren’t any hiccups,” said his agent, Todd Ramasar. “Every step you’re kind of holding your breath.”
And while some have been quick to question the NCAA’s decision earlier this year to grant Darlan two years of college eligibility after his two G League seasons, Sendek doesn’t consider this any different than a European player who lands at a U.S. university on the heels of a prior professional career.
“When the outrage comes from a few players who are still young and of college age, going from the G League to college, I understand, I get it, who thought we'd be here?” Sendek said. “I don't think people are being critical of him but it's kind of like that last straw of, ‘What are we doing, how did we get here, and what are we going to do about it?’ So I understand that.”
Staying on his own course
Darlan, meanwhile, remains focused on handling his daily business, like classes in art history and religion, or slogging through a heavy rain to attend study hall.
“I’m here to learn and progress every single day,” he said. “It’s a new experience, a new challenge, it’s way different from the G League."
Bringing Darlan aboard hasn’t come without significant challenges, but his teammates have been there to help.
Like Chris Tadjo, Darlan’s close friend who is from Ivory Coast and played against him in the academy.
“Having him here is awesome,” said Tadjo, currently sidelined by a knee injury. “I kind of have family here. If I need anything, we’re always together. No matter what, he always comes to me. Even in practice, we’re laughing. It’s really a great thing to have him around. Obviously, I support him in every single thing he does. I just want the best for him. I’m super grateful for him to be here.”
As Darlan recently made his way up the stairs to study hall, teammate Jake Ensminger was on his way down.
“How are you feeling today?” Darlan inquired.
The guard from Germany quickly offered, “Don’t forget to smile, Bro.”
“I don’t forget,” Darlan replied. “I smile all day, and they all know that.”
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