Around The Basketball League: From ISO To Inspiration, Darhius Nunn Faithfully Grows His Game In The TBL With The Owensboro Thoroughbreds
In his second season as a professional, Darhius Nunn reflects on his road from top D2 guard, to earning his spot in Owensboro, and relishing the big moments in life and basketball
Owensboro, Kentucky — Darhius Nunn knows a thing or two about hitting game winners and living in the moment.
It’s in his blood at this point. Chalk it up to muscle memory over the years and the thrill of the game to either silence or lift the crowd. That’s seriously powerful. But when you make that kind of shot on the professional stage, the moment hits differently. In the season opener and on the road against the Detroit Hustle to tip-off the 2022 season in The Basketball League, Darhius Nunn finished with 29 points by going 12-14 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc. Yet it’s his last shot that was the biggest of the night for the Owensboro Thoroughbreds. With Owensboro battling back all game long and trailing by two points late in the game, the Hustle picked-up Nunn full court and made him work for it. After getting up the floor to the top of the key, he drove to his left, spun back to his right, stepped back, and put a high release on the three as the clock expired.
Boom.
Final score: Owensboro 120 - Detroit 118.
Even three days after the fact, the second year pro is riding the wave coming off of hitting his first buzzer beater and game winner as a pro knowing that the next game is another chance to leave a lasting impression in the TBL.
“I have hit game winners before, I’ve really hit one at every level I played as starting in high school and then hit one my senior year in college,”Nunn told Around The Basketball League.
“That was the first pro one which makes it special to me and in my opinion the best one I’ve had. I’ve definitely come down a little from it with us having a big game against the Kentucky Enforcers this weekend. I'm a live in the moment type person, so I am thankful for that moment but my focus now is helping my team get a win this weekend.”
From ISO to inspiration just like that.
“I made a couple shots down the stretch so I was already in a good rhythm. Coach (Mark Anderson) trusted in me that I could get it done. For myself and my team it was just a great confidence booster. We had been losing most of that game and were down 20 points at one point, so for us to come together as a new team and trust each other I think can really help us for the season.”
For Nunn, this year signifies a new start and mindset to the 2022 TBL season as he enters his second season with Owensboro. Last year as a rookie he started off playing the least amount of minutes and dedicated himself to working his way to the top of the backcourt rotation. Within that process, he built a solid relationship and foundation with Team Market Owner Chris Allison and the coaching staff with the Thoroughbreds that resulted in a second season in Kentucky.
“With already having that comfortability with them I knew this year was going to be easier for me to play my game. The biggest way I have grown is learning to stay poised during the runs of a pro game. In this environment, everyone knows how to score and get their own shot so there's a lot of runs in a pro game. I learned the most from last year that the team who stays calm and doesn’t fold usually would be the team to come out on top. Entering this year, I try to help keep everyone focused no matter the adversity of the game so that we have a chance and to just stay calm and play our game.”
Born and raised in Fairmont, West Virginia, Darhius played under David Retton at Fairmont Senior High School where he was selected First Team All-State as a junior and senior and led the team to the State Championship in 2016 before moving on to play college basketball at Division II Glenville State College for three seasons. That’s where the 5’9 guard began to take his game to a new level. He earned Second Team All- Conference as a sophomore and averaged 18.8 points per game in his second season with the Pioneers. By his junior season Darhius was scoring and dropping dimes at will by averaging 22.2 points and 9.5 assists per game. It’s also where Darhius started considering the big picture of his basketball and academic future, one that extended beyond West Virginia and was based in faith.
Next stop: Palm Beach Atlantic University in Palm Beach, Florida. As a Senior, Darhius arrived on the D2 campus for the 2019-20 season and immediately became the primary ball-handler for the Sailfish thanks to his versatility and court awareness. And what a year it was: he averaged 14.7 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per game and etched his name in the history books at Palm Beach Atlantic and in the Sunshine State Conference.
He scored his 1,000th career point against West Georgia.
He broke the school’s D2-era record for assists in a season with 184, including a program best single game assist record with 13 assists against Nova Southeastern.
He led the SSC in assists and assists per game (6.1).
He ran away with SSC Defensive Player of the Week honors twice and was selected to the SCC All-Newcomer squad.
Even with all of the D2 accomplishments and accolades at PBA, it’s Nunn’s time growing on the court and digging deeper into his faith that truly prepared him from transitioning out of college and into playing professionally.
“My time at PBA helped me out greatly. First playing in the SSC — in my opinion the best conference in D2 basketball — and just having to play against a good team every night made me have that feeling where you can’t take a night off or you will lose. Then also PBA was a Christian school and being in that environment really helped me get a better confidence with embracing faith and having a better connection with God,” Nunn explained. “Trusting God's plan over your own plan. That has been the biggest thing for me to believe because I thought personally I would be overseas quicker than it has taken but I’ve learned to really let go of all that and trust God through it all. It really takes all the pressure away because you know God is in control.”
Tied for first place in the Southeast Conference at 2-0 with the Kentucky Enforcers, Owensboro is scheduled for three tough upcoming road games starting with Kentucky (3/12), the Lebanon Leprechauns (3/18), and the Medora Timberjacks (3/19), all before finally returning home to host their 2022 TBL home opener against the Indiana All-Americans (3/20).
For Darhius Nunn, it’s a handful of games early in the season that present the timely reminder to trust that he’s making the most of his time growing his game in the TBL and Owensboro.
It’s another shot to live in the moment.
*photos courtesy of the Owensboro Thoroughbreds
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Wendell Maxey has covered and written about professional basketball and sports for 19 years and has previously been featured on ESPN.com, NBA.com, USA Today, FOX Sports, and SLAM Magazine among other publications and outlets. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn or read through his archive on Linktree.