NCAA rules that a former G League player is eligible to play DI basketball

Michelle Pemberton | IndyStar | USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nothing about the eligibility rules in college sports makes any sense right now. The latest example will put your brain in a pretzel — and possibly set an interesting precedent.

ESPN’s Jeremy Woo is reporting that Thierry Darlan, who spent the 2024-25 season suiting up for the NBA G League’s Delaware Blue Coats and Rip City Remix, has been ruled eligible by the NCAA to play Division I college basketball this coming season at Santa Clara. Darlan’s agent, Todd Ramasar, relayed the news to Woo.

Darlan, who will have two years of college eligibility left as a true junior, wasn’t just a practice player in the G League last season, either — he was a legit rotation piece. The 6-foot-8 wing appeared in 29 games last season, averaging 10.9 points and six rebounds per outing on 45.7 percent shooting. He also played for the now-defunct G League Ignite program — an alternative path to college basketball previously coached by current Kentucky assistant Jason Hart — throughout the 2023-24 season.

Despite all of that professional experience, the NCAA has ruled Darlan eligible for college ball. It falls in line what what the NCAA has been doing with international prospects who have also played professionally. Kentucky has one on the roster right now in 21-year-old freshman Andrija Jelavić out of Croatia, who played multiple seasons as a pro overseas but has been ruled eligible to play college basketball in the United States. With NIL now in play, what constitutes amateurism has become much looser of a concept.

Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning

By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.

Darlan has already entered and withdrawn from both the 2024 and 2025 NBA Drafts. He’ll only have one more opportunity to test the waters now that he’s playing in the NCAA, though. Santa Clara, Arizona, and Kansas were schools he considered before committing to the G League Ignite in 2023. Darlan will become the first former G League player to receive NCAA eligibility.

Will this decision from the NCAA eventually set a precedent that players who leave for the NBA (or other pro routes) will have the ability to return to college if they have eligibility remaining? We’re already seeing fifth- and sixth-year college football players asking for more eligibility in court — what’s going to stop former pros from looking to change the rules in basketball?