In 2017, San Diego City College basketball player Darien McClain hit the game-winning shot in the Knights’ first and only California Community College State Championship.
Eight years later, McClain is back in the Knights’ basketball program as a player development coach.
McClain, like all the assistant coaches at City, is unpaid. The same job at a Division 1 school has a salary starting at $50,000 according to Indeed.com, while some assistant coaches make $100,000 or more, given the experience level.
“Sadly, that’s the journey of an assistant coach,” said Head Coach Mitch Charlens. “It takes a long time to get paid to coach basketball, and so that’s part of the first couple rounds of your career as a coach.”
McClain, generously listed at 5-foot-9, has always been an underdog in a sport full of giants.
Despite earning three high school varsity letters in both soccer and basketball, McClain didn’t receive any scholarship offers to play either sport.
“I sent out thousands of emails to coaches trying to get a scholarship,” McClain said. “It just didn’t happen.”
He decided to focus on basketball and began his collegiate career as a walk-on at the University of Tampa.
McClain described himself as “the last guy on the team” at Tampa and was mainly relegated to the bench. The highlight of his time with Tampa was when he was put into a game against the University of Connecticut with 15 seconds remaining in a blowout loss.
“I decided I was going to make the most of those 15 seconds,” McClain said. “I got the ball, attacked the rim, made a layup, got fouled and made the free throw. After scoring three points in 15 seconds, I was leading the nation in points per 40 minutes.”
McClain eventually earned a starting position at Tampa, but was still told there wouldn’t be a scholarship for him after the season.
“I left Tampa because I wanted a new opportunity, but I got into feeling sorry for myself,” McClain said. “My mentality was weak. I wasn’t developing personally. So leaving Tampa, I was just kind of like, ‘I know I can do it, but I don’t have the mindset to succeed.’”
McClain then moved to San Diego where his mom was living, uncertain if his basketball career would continue. He got a job at Siesel’s Meats in Bay Park wrapping steaks and chicken. It was his first time receiving a steady paycheck.
His mother persuaded him to give basketball another chance. So McClain enrolled at Mesa College in the hope of reviving his basketball career. But Mesa’s coach showed little interest in giving him a chance.
“I just didn’t feel the love there at Mesa,” McClain said. “The basketball coach was very much like, ‘you might be good enough to play here and you’ll be able to try out.’ I was shocked, and I just took it as disrespect.”
McClain stopped going to class at Mesa and continued working at Siesel’s. He figured his collegiate career was over but still played at the Balboa Avenue 24-Hour Fitness Gym.
In a late-night pickup game there, McClain’s fate changed when a friend of coach Charlens witnessed McClain’s prowess.
“It was 10 o’clock and there were open runs, and I was just in my own world,” McClain said. “I was having one of those days where the ball was falling, everything. The dude was like, ‘Hey man, where are you going to school?’”
The friend told him about City College. McClain did some research and learned that the Knights have a program that wins consistently.
He was invited to a workout at Harry West Gym and was immediately approached by coach Charlens.
“Coach Mitch (Charlens) told me I was coming and there would be a spot for me. I then ended up coming to City and it’s like, ‘oh, this is the place where I want to try to put my efforts.’ So kind of like a full circle moment.”
McClain got to work with assistant coach Phil Scott, who McClain credits for his growth as a player and as an inspiration.
“I never trained,” McClain said. “I never had a trainer. I never did individual sessions. I was always just a team ball player.”
“He actually, put me through the footwork, put me through the development of the game. He put me through all of that weird stuff that I wasn’t used to. And I mean weird as in awkward or unorthodox things that I wasn’t normally doing.”
McClain won the 2017 PCAC Player of the Year his sophomore year before helping the Knights go on their historic run to the State Championship.
Charlens was quick to credit McClain for his impact on the program.
“He’s left his mark, not only at our college, but it’s the only men’s basketball state championship in the entire (PCAC) conference, not just City College,” Charlens said. “No other team has ever won the state championship. So he did something that no other player at any other college in our conference has done.”
Even after his success at City, McClain didn’t receive a Division 1 offer and ended up at a Division 2 school, Azuza Pacific University.
But it was not an easy transition. After the highs of a championship, McClain suddenly felt an extreme low after two of his former college teammates – one from City and one from Tampa – committed suicide.
After losing his best friends, McClain’s mental health deteriorated.
“Azuza was a wild roller coaster, and I didn’t understand the importance of personal development, counseling, therapy or getting help. I was fighting this grief every day without people knowing,” McClain said.
After focusing on his mental health during his career at Azuza, McClain earned a contract to play professionally in Romania.
But his first professional season ended after three games when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and he went back to California, uncertain if his career would continue.
Over a year later McClain went back to Romania, but this time to play in “bubble-like” conditions. He said he soon realized he didn’t like that quiet environment of basketball in the immediate post-pandemic era.
“I like playing in front of people. I like people watching me play basketball. It’s like a scrimmage every time we played,” McClain said. “It’s just quiet in the gym, it’s cold, the lights are dim, It’s just not a fun environment. So I was going crazy. I was like, ‘I don’t even know if I like basketball anymore.’”
McClain left his basketball career and focused on his personal development, educating himself on the things that he felt he needed to know to move on. He took a corporate job at MyBuild Core, a construction company based in Florida that specializes in residential house flipping.
When that job turned into a remote position, McClain moved back to California and reached out to Charlens to see if he could volunteer with the program. Charlens quickly welcomed McClain back as a player development coach.
During the 2024-25 season, McClain would set up his work laptop at the scorer’s table at Harry West Gym and simultaneously work his full-time job in between hopping in drills during practice.
Despite his rigorous schedule, his impact on the team quickly translated to the court.
Knights’ guard Cameron Marshall credited his breakout performance on Dec. 20, 2024, to his work with McClain. Marshall scored a career-high 20 first-half points in that game.
“Working with Coach D (McClain) has been big for me,” Marshall said after the game. “We’re always in the gym. Today we got in a couple of hours early. We really got to work.”
After the season, McClain was laid off from MyBuild Core due to “budget cuts.”
He became a full-time trainer and started his own company and brand, Daily Moves.
McClain says Daily Moves is focused on providing mentality coaching, personal development strategies and support for athletes at various levels – from high school to professional.
Daily Moves also keeps him accountable, he said, even when going through daily mundane activities.
“Before bed, I’m stretching and I’m drinking my water and taking that extra time with stuff that you don’t see,” McClain said. “I’m sitting in my room with my feet on the wall. I’m in bed, stretching my toes to make sure I’m mobile, like I’m not just sitting here.”
Daily Moves has been gaining traction in San Diego with McClain securing deals with the local parks and recreation centers where he does basketball and sports training. He says his focus isn’t primarily teaching basketball, but instead on the mental aspect of sports.
Charlens claims McClain hasn’t changed much since his playing days.
“He always had a diligent work ethic. Truly, when I think about Darien, he hasn’t changed,” Charlens said.
McClain says he loves being back at City College and is weighing whether his future is in coaching or entrepreneurship.
His priority, he said, is finding where he can make the most meaningful impact.
For more information about Daily Moves, click here.
Free mental health resources are provided to City College students. Click here to schedule an appointment with a counselor.
Suicide Lifeline: If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call or text the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or chat online any time of day or night.
Edited by David J. Bohnet, Nadia Lavin
