Europe, then came to play college ball:

Yes, there are examples of players who came through European basketball academies and then played NCAA basketball in the U.S. A few notable examples include:

1. Franz Wagner: Wagner played for the youth teams of Alba Berlin in Germany and gained experience with the senior team in the Basketball Bundesliga. He then moved to the U.S. to play for the University of Michigan Wolverines, where he had a strong collegiate career before being drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2021.


2. Olivier Sarr: Sarr played in France's INSEP (National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance) academy, a highly regarded European basketball academy. He then moved to the U.S. to play for Wake Forest and later transferred to Kentucky during his NCAA career.


3. Luka Garza: Though Garza was born in the U.S., he has strong ties to European basketball through his father’s coaching career. He trained with youth teams in Europe before coming to the U.S. and playing for the University of Iowa, where he became one of the best players in NCAA basketball.



These players took different paths but shared the commonality of transitioning from strong European basketball backgrounds to competing in the U.S. college system.