Earlier this week, it was announced that former G-League player Thierry Darlan has been allowed to retain his NCAA eligibility after playing in the NBA’s lower division for two seasons. He initially committed to the defunct Ignite program, but after his second season in the league, he has now decided to go back to college and play for the Santa Clara Broncos.
Following this update, the general understanding across the NCAA world became that G-League players can now be recruited to college as well. Legendary head coach Rick Pitino, who once coached the Knicks and Celtics, reacted to this update, joking about how he anticipates NBA players will be the next ones allowed to retain their college eligibility.
“So let me get this straight, we can now recruit G league players? Is the NBA next? I have first dibs on @Giannis_An34,” said Pitino on X.
In 2019 and 2020, Rick Pitino served as the head coach for the Greece national basketball team. He had the chance to get acquainted with the Bucks forward at that time. Pitino seems to be joking that if he were allowed to do so, he would bring Giannis Antetokounmpo onto the St. John’s University team.
While it was a commonly understood notion that when a player went to the G-League, especially their Ignite program, they were looking to go straight from high school to a professional level, but that did not necessarily mean that they would forego their eligibility to return to college once they did. Since a G-League commitment is not a guarantee of an NBA contract someday.
Darlan has become the first player ever to commit to the G-League for two seasons and then return to college. But a G-League contract is not the same as an NBA contract, as it does not involve a draft process. NBA players are expected to forego the remaining years of college eligibility when they declare for the Draft, as per Article 10.1 (a)(ii)(A) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
However, the early entry candidacy exception allows college players to declare for the draft 60 days before the draft night and participate in the recruitment process. If they are not selected, they can retain their college eligibility.
Hence, while Pitino seems to only be joking about recruiting Antetokounmpo, we may see a day in the future when NBA players within their rookie contracts or so (in a hypothetical) will be allowed to return to college and finish their education.
Considering that Giannis Antetokounmpo never went to college, if the league rules get amended someday, do you think a player like Antetokounmpo could go back to college to finish his education and earn using the NIL? A major what-if that could change the course of NCAA basketball as well.
