Bedford's Nate Darling cracks 2020-21 roster for NBA's Charlotte Hornets
Former NCAA star could become first Nova Scotian to play in the league
Nova Scotia sports history could be made tonight in Cleveland.
Bedford's Nate Darling has landed a spot on the roster of the Charlotte Hornets to begin the regular season, becoming the first player from Nova Scotia to get this close to appearing in a regular-season game.
The Hornets meet the Cavaliers to begin their season.
The 22-year-old Darling, who played college basketball at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and the University of Delaware, signed a two-way contract with the Hornets in the off-season. He was not drafted.
He made himself eligible for the draft, foregoing a final season in the NCAA, after a breakout season last year in Delaware.
The three-point specialist was one of the NCAA's top shooters, averaging 21 points per game and shooting 39.9 per cent from three-point range.
He scored 672 points in 2019-2020, seven shy of the school record. He also set a University of Delaware record by hitting 107 three-pointers last season.
The six-foot-five inch Darling left Nova Scotia in Grade 9 and enrolled at DeMatha Catholic High School, a basketball powerhouse in Maryland.
In the summer of 2015, he returned home to etch his name in Canadian basketball lore, scoring 50 points to lead Team Nova Scotia to an upset of Team Ontario in the gold-medal game at the national under-17 championship.
Darling played a combined 13 minutes in two of Charlotte's pre-season games, both against the Toronto Raptors. He did not appear in Charlotte's final two pre-season games.
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