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St. John's Coach Rick Pitino Targets Giannis Antetokounmpo After Big Development

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Rowan Fisher-Shotton | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 10:13 AM ET

The NCAA cleared 21-year-old Thierry Darlan, a Central African wing who spent the past two seasons in the G League system, to play Division I basketball for the Santa Clara Broncos, his agent, Todd Ramasar, told ESPN on Wednesday.

Darlan is the first player to obtain NCAA eligibility after playing professionally in the NBA G League, a decision that follows a trend of the NCAA allowing certain international professionals to play collegiately under revised amateurism/NIL definitions.

The NCAA cited his age and years removed from high school (NBA Academy Africa) in granting eligibility.

Darlan will enter college as a junior and have two years of NCAA eligibility remaining after withdrawing from the 2025 NBA Draft.

After the news broke, St. John’s Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino joked about recruiting the NBA's Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, posting on X, "So let me get this straight, we can now recruit G league players? Is the NBA next? I have first dibs on @Giannis_An34 ."

So let me get this straight, we can now recruit G league players? Is the NBA next? I have first dibs on @Giannis_An34
— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) September 24, 2025

Pitino rebuilt St. John’s rapidly after his 2023 hire.

In 2024-25, he guided St. John’s to a 31-win season, Big East regular-season and tournament titles, a No. 2 NCAA seed and six different national coach-of-the-year awards. The program matched its school record for wins and posted an undefeated home record at Madison Square Garden and Carnesecca Arena.

Pitino’s roster turnover since then has been heavy (starters Aaron Scott, Kadary Richmond and RJ Luis Jr. all left for the NBA). Still, expectations remain high given Pitino's proven ability to reload via the transfer portal and NIL resources.

Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP and nine-time All-Star, remains among the NBA’s elite, posting averages of 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.9 steals across 67 games, while shooting 60.1% from the field and finishing third in MVP voting.

The Darlan ruling signals the NCAA is willing to treat some young international pros and G League alumni differently than past policy, creating a new pathway (or at least precedent) for players who chose professional development early.

For programs, that could mean more scouting of G League rosters and NBA Academy graduates; for the NCAA, it raises questions about parity, amateurism and how eligibility will be applied going forward.

If this stands, more former pro players could populate college rosters. Unfortunately for Pitino, Antetokounmpo probably won't be one of them.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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