After tearing her ACL three times in four years and spending another year working back to playing form, Dilan Tubbs feared she had to step away from basketball for good.
Two weeks before her second year at Texas Christian University was set to begin, Tubbs was back home in Minnesota preparing for her second year as a non-athlete, fully at peace with ending her tumultuous basketball career and moving forward as a student.
All of a sudden, while pulling out of her driveway, Tubbs received a phone call from Marist women’s basketball head coach Erin Doughty, who offered her a spot as a transfer walk-on.
To understand the magnitude of this phone call, you have to rewind to where the challenges began: Hopkins High School in Minneapolis.
Hailed as one of the premier schools for women’s basketball in the country, Tubbs was surrounded by premier athletes from an early age. WNBA lottery picks, such as Paige Bueckers and Nia Coffey, among countless Division I recruits, have started their journey at Hopkins.
Tubbs’ playing career got off to a rocky start. She tore her ACL in eighth grade; an injury of that severity is uncommon among players that young. To make matters worse, the very next year, she tore the opposing ACL, sidelining her yet again until her sophomore season.
Her injury forced her to confront that she might never be the same player again.
“Even though I was so young, in the back of my mind I was wondering if my development was hindered in some form or way.” said Tubbs
Having missed two years of crucial development at a star-studded school, Tubbs had to battle for any opportunity she could get.
“I’m coming off an injury and there’s McDonald’s All-Americans in front of me,” said Tubbs. “How do I find a way to play and develop in this murky area?”
Despite struggling to make an impact during her 10th grade season, Tubbs made a name for herself during AAU the following summer. Her team, Metro Stars, was loaded with college talent top-to-bottom; but this time, she carved out college looks.
“I was coming off the bench and finding my way,” said Tubbs. “I became known as the player who would come out and do whatever was needed for my team. I think that’s what got colleges’ interested in me.”
Now finally capable of playing her best basketball, Tubbs wanted to find a way to leave Hopkins, an institution she thought only respected her as a healthy athlete.
“I wasn’t treated the best [at Hopkins] when I wasn’t playing, it was kind of a toxic environment, and that happened if you weren’t one of the top players,” said Tubbs. “As athletes, you already have to expect a lot from yourself, so you hold yourself to a certain standard. When you’re in a toxic environment, it can be really hard to see yourself as more than an athlete.”
With her newfound status in the Minnesota basketball scene and her discontent with Hopkins, Tubbs took the opportunity to transfer to DeLaSalle high school — an appealing new environment where she would undoubtedly see a bigger chunk of playing time.
“Even though I’m healthy now, no matter what, they will value me as a student for my academics, and as a person,” Tubbs said of her thought process.
Tubbs entered her junior season more confident than ever. Unfortunately, disaster struck once again late in the year.
“I just made All-Conference and I started to feel like myself again. Then I tore my ACL the game before we went to states.”
This time around, it was crushing. Her earlier tears did not come in such a high-leverage moment — now colleges would take their eyes off her, and all the work she did to garner recruitment buzz would be for naught. More importantly, after sustaining three ACL tears in such a short window, she worried about whether she could still reach the same potential. .
But in the moment, all Tubbs could think about was leaving her team during such a dream season.
“It was devastating to me. It wasn’t even grappling with the idea that I was injured, I thought about my team and how much they needed me in that moment. I felt extremely hurt that I wouldn’t be able to be with them on the court.” said Tubbs.
Due to the timing of her injury, Tubbs decided to take all of her senior year off from basketball for rehab. Even though her chances at a Division I scholarship had dried up, Tubbs wanted to go to a school prominent in the athletics scene.
She settled on TCU: she had family in the Fort Worth area, it was a strong academic and athletic institution and it aligned with her Christian faith.
While her academic career had become a priority, Tubbs had no plans to stop rehabbing for a potential return to playing basketball.
Tubbs’ mother connected her with a trainer she found on Instagram, a TCU alumni named Lee Nailon. It took a stroke of luck — her mother figuring out how to work social media — but it paid off.
“After our first session, he said ‘You know what? I can see it. If you want to buy in and play, you can do that. And I’ll do everything in my power to help you,’” said Tubbs.
Nailon is a six-year NBA vet who had his own share of adversity in his college career, stemming from his playing days at JUCO before getting drafted out of TCU.
“He understands the feelings of ‘Am I capable as a player? How can I get to the place where I know I can be?”
That understanding helped them form a tight bond. Tubbs frequently visited Nailon’s home for dinner, and the two recently went to the women’s NCAA Tournament in March.
“That’s my second home, I know I can always go back to them and they’ll welcome me with open arms.”
Outside of Nailon, Tubbs loves the support system she had at TCU. She found family in her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and a network of friends that did not have to see her as an athlete.
Tubbs and Nailon met five times a week to train from fall until the end of spring. By the end of her freshman year at TCU, Tubbs felt ready to make a return to basketball. Her eyes were set on the women’s basketball team, holding out for a chance to walk-on for the school she’d grown to love, but that did not pan out either.
“I was really holding out hope that I would walk on,” said Tubbs. “[Now I thought] the possibility of me transferring is in view, but at the same time, it looks like there’s nothing right now.”
As the summer progressed, the state of affairs forced Tubbs to think more about her academic future. She had a growing passion for psychology, heavily influenced by her experiences dealing with doubt and injury throughout her life. With around two weeks remaining before returning to TCU for her sophomore year, she was content.
“‘I’m going to return to TCU as a student,’” she said to herself. “I’m happy. I did everything in my power and I learned a lot about myself through the process of trying to play again.”
Out of nowhere, she received the phone call from Doughty — but Tubbs had no hand in it at all.
Behind the scenes, her godmother, Sheba Coffey, reached out to Doughty and asked if she would consider Tubbs for a roster spot. Sheba is the mother of Sydney Coffey, Tubbs’ god sister and a former Marist basketball player. Doughty then called Sydney and asked about Tubbs’ character, and like most people who have met Tubbs, she raved about her.
After watching Tubbs’ film and deliberating further, Doughty called her up and offered her a spot as a walk on.
Tubbs immediately found her mom, who immediately called her dad, and the three celebrated as a family together. Now, they had to turn around and move Tubbs cross-country with less than two weeks before the academic year started.
It was a big undertaking. Tubbs’ had to reconcile with leaving her support system at TCU and the weight of playing Division I basketball, after just making peace with her identity as a former athlete — but Marist really spoke to her.
“Coach E sees me being here for a long time and contributing to the program.” said Tubbs. “She was a psychology major here; she understands what it’s like, and the opportunities here, and that made me comfortable as a student.”
As a passionate psychology major, the opportunity to earn a roster spot and subsequently a ticket to a free Masters’ degree in the field she loved, was all the fuel she needed to commit to Marist. Tubbs’ takes her academic future seriously, and has dreams of opening her own sports psychology practice.
“I want to help people who didn’t have the outcome I had to understand there is more to their life than being an athlete,” said Tubbs. “I am very proud and very grateful to be here, but I’m always thinking ‘What’s the difference between me and another girl with a torn ACL, and she won’t get this opportunity?’”
Her teammates have been nothing but welcoming and Tubbs glows when speaking about her fellow Red Foxes.
“I’m so eternally grateful for my teammates here. I felt comfortable going to my teammates and asking them questions,” said Tubbs. “It was just that patience and kindness from the program that really helped me adjust.”
It hasn’t been a completely smooth transition; because Tubbs was the last woman to join the roster in late August, she entered the program behind on all the ramp-up work ahead of this season. Moreover, she hasn’t played competitive basketball in two years, and has certainly never played Division I basketball before.
All Tubbs can focus on is working to get back on the court and being the best teammate she can be, something she takes pride in.
“If you’re not the best player on the floor, you can always be the best person off the floor.” said Tubbs. “I’m trying to give everything I can, whether that’s a high five, or a smile, or an ear to listen on a hard day.”
Despite the challenges of her sudden acclimation, Tubbs has not lost faith in her journey or her new environment, even if she never sees the court.
“This is considered an impossible way to play college basketball,” said Tubbs. “So if I can inspire just one other person to continue, even if it’s not in athletics, to push for their goals and dreams in life, that’s great.”
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photos from Jaylen Rizzo and Marist Athletics
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