Live Scouting: NBA Academy Africa breakout Thierry Darlan

Thierry Serge Darlan was a July breakout. The NBA Academy brought all of its programs to Atlanta, Georgia, for the first July Live Evaluation Period to host the NBA Academy games. There, Darlan played six games and averaged 14 points, shooting 48.5 percent (16-33) from three and winning the event championship.

Things immediately picked up. Then Darlan, a member of the NBA Academy Africa, followed that July showing with an MVP performance at the September Basketball without Borders event in Cairo.

As you can imagine, with back-to-back showings like that, recruitment has soared. Currently, programs like Kansas, Arizona, Santa Clara (lone official visit), and Texas are involved. Also, the G-League Ignite program is taking a hard look at the guard.

Darlan is playing three games this week in Las Vegas at the Tarkanian Classic and two showcase games at the G-League Winter Showcase. I was joined by NBA Scouts, and college coaches courtside, watching Darlan and his NBA Academy Africa teammates in practice and for three of these games.

Let’s go through what I saw.

Darlan’s frame

The frame pops immediately for Thierry Serge Darlan. He walks on the floor with wide-set shoulders and a continuous flow of arms. The Central African Republic national has a thin frame but a projectable one. One that, as he continues to mature (February 2004 birthday), should be able to add good weight.

Darlan is listed at 6-foot-6. He plays primarily on the ball for his NBA Academy Africa team; this is where the intrigue starts, but we will get into that a little later. Darlan also has a measured 7-foot-1 wingspan. As an 18-year-old guard with a 6-6 frame and a 7-1 wing span, he fits the prototype.

Darlan’s game

As I mentioned previously, Thierry Serge Darlan plays primarily on the ball for his NBA Academy Africa team. Immediately you notice two things, the pace, and the vision.

The guard makes good reads, he gives the play time to develop, and he delivers the pass to the proper read. An issue he has had this weekend is the passes have not been on target. They are not keeping official stats at the Tarkanian Classic, but I charted Darlan during his matchup against Napa (CA) Prolific Prep, and he tallied eight turnovers. They did keep official stats at the G-League Winter Showcase, and in his first game there, against NBA Global Academy, he tallied 12 turnovers.

Some of the turnovers were due to bad execution, i.e., he had one possession where he tried to execute a hammer play. Instead of getting all the way to the baseline and jumping laterally to throw the pass left-handed to enhance the angle, he was about four-steps short of the baseline and jumped vertically to throw the pass two-handed. Naturally, the ball did not get halfway to its intended target before it was intercepted. However, it was the correct read.

As the primary initiator, Darlan seemed to be streaky in getting to his shots. However, he showed some scoring chops. During the NBA Academy Games in July, Darlan’s scoring, most notably his shooting, was where a lot of the intrigue spawned. With that, it seems he is a more natural player off the ball, as there were some inconsistencies in getting into his shot off the bounce. In his third game of the Tarkanian Classic, I had him going 6-of-14 from the field and 1-of-5 from three. In the game against the NBA Global Academy team, Darlan finished 5-of-14 from the field and 1-of-5 from three. The release on the shot was fine, but the arc flattened out, and he missed shots left and right when asked to create for himself.

I would like to get a viewing of Darlan playing off the ball with another player initiating the offense. Smaller guards were able to get underneath him as the primary ball handler and his reads of the second line of defense/help defense got him in trouble.

There were multiple times when Darlan was not worried about running the team. When he looked to get a bucket, was when he showed some flashes. He absorbed contact in the paint or pulled up for a nice jumper. This seemed to happen when he was asked to simply react and make a play, not run the team. There were also times in this scenario when he took some forced shots, but Darlan appeared far more natural here.

However…

As I mentioned, my feeling was that Darlan was playing a position that he is still learning. There were stretches when a teammate would push the break or bring the ball up where Darlan was on the wing. When playing within two dribbles, Darlan was at his best.

There is some shot-making upside here. Off the ball, he seemed more comfortable and more balanced with catch-and-shoot threes. He also was able to use his length in the mid-range to knock down a couple of pull-ups. He did take some bad shots here as well, but he looked more comfortable when asked to be a scorer.

While he called for a screen many times to get past his man in the half-court, when Darlan was able to get in transition, there were times when he was unimpeded that he showed quick explosion that got him off the floor and above the rim in a hurry. He was also solid in straight-line driving closeouts off ball reversals.

Darlan on defense

The upside is there. Listing his physical traits along with his athleticism, the thought is he will grow to be an above-average defender. In this setting, there were possessions where he looked brilliant guarding the point of attack; however, those possessions were inconsistent.

Let’s start with his off-ball defense. His length can be a terror in the passing lanes. He showed solid anticipation, and he was able to close down passing angles simply by showing in the passing lanes. He had a good number of deflections, and he closed out under control on jump shots.

On the ball, as I mentioned above, he was inconsistent. Too often, opposing guards were able to turn the corner on him in the half-court. However, there were some possessions where he locked in and was able to pick up five-second calls in the half-court.

If he is able to maintain engagement on defense, this is a place where he could shine.

Darlan’s intrigue

Thierry Serge Darlan continues on a steady arc of improvement. Even last year, when I watched him during his games in the U.S., he showed intrigue. However, his developmental curve from February to now has seen his flashes turn into some production. This year, he is the primary focus for his team, and with that comes adjustments both in his game and his mentality.

His confidence is there, and he is embracing the spotlight with conviction. Based on multiple live viewings ten months apart, if Darlan played in the United States, he currently has the look of a player in the 18 to 30 range of the 2023 On3 150. On3 has two or three more 2023 rankings updates before we finalize this 2023 class. With his rapid developmental curve, we plan to have more live viewings of Darlan in this time frame. Although he needs to continue paying attention to his all-around efficiency, playing on the ball should help develop his pace and his ability to read the game and execute.

For me, he established his upside as a prospect in February. In this viewing, the scoring is the takeaway. While it was inconsistent, and he will need to tighten up scoring off the bounce, he did score at all three levels, absorbed contact at the rim, and showed touch. Still raw; there is an upside here, and is a player to watch as he continues to develop; his best basketball may be a couple of years ahead of him.