From Iverson to Ewing, Mourning to Mutombo, Georgetown has produced some of the NBA’s greatest players. But have you ever wondered what happened to some of the people who never quite made it into professional basketball’s limelight?
While some of their teammates have gone on to find glory in the NBA, others have not been nearly as lucky. A few have carved out productive basketball careers outside the NBA, bouncing from team to team, and continent to continent, while others have chosen to shift gears completely – literally, in the case of current NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan (MSB `96). Curious about what happened to Boubacar Aw (COL `98)? Think Kenny Brunneris still in jail? And what’s ever become of Victor Page?
Some stories are more uplifting than others, but at least the question of “Where are they now?” can finally be answered.
Demetrius Hunter
His high-flying dunks made him one of the team’s most spellbinding characters during the team’s Sweet 16 run of the 2000-01 season, but “Hollywood” Hunter lasted only two years at Georgetown before deciding to transfer to University of Nevada-Las Vegas to be closer to his newborn daughter. After sitting out last season because of NCAA regulations, Hunter looks to show off his Las Vegas strip-style aerial acrobatics in a more fitting setting, as he joins the Runnin’ Rebels in the ountain West Conference. He was named the MWC Pre-Season Newcomer of the Year, and is projected to be a starting guard in the Rebels’ lineup.
Kevin Braswell (COL ’02)
Georgetown’s star point guard from last year earned a tryout with the Washington Wizards in the spring before the June 2002 draft, but wasn’t signed to a contract after the team elected to instead opt for his Maryland counterpart and childhood friend Juan Dixon in the first round. Braswell is currently slated to play the 2002-03 season in Belgium for Tournai Estaimpius.
Nat Burton (COL ’01)
Remembered for his last-second heroics in the 2000-01 team’s victory over Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Burton spent his first year out of college playing for the Harlem Globetrotters. Last summer, he posted 28.5 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game in the Real Run Summer League in Carson, Calif., and will play in a professional league in Finland this winter.
Lee Scruggs (COL ’01)
The lanky fan favorite from 1999-2001, Scruggs has managed to do what many of his teammates have not – remain playing competitive basketball in North America. After spending a summer playing in Shaw’s Pro League in Boston, he was signed to the Asheville Altitude of the National Basketball Development League, where he averaged 10.9 points per game and 2.1 blocks per game in his debut season. He was named to both the 2002 NBDL All-Rookie Team and All-Defensive Team.
Boubacar Aw (COL ’98)
Aw has spent the past four years playing in Argentina, at one time alongside former Georgetown teammate Cheikh Ya Ya Dia in San Nicolas. Aw averaged 20.0 points per game in 1998-99, and 18.4 in 1999-2000, before being sidelined in 2001 with an injury. He made a strong return last year, scoring 17.3 points per game in his fourth season with Regatas San Nicolas.
Victor Page
Deciding to leave school early after his sophomore season to enter the NBA draft, Page was forced to settle on the more humble accommodations of the Continental Basketball Association, where he spent three seasons with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. After being named to the CBA All-Star team in 2000, he was subsequently released in 2001. Page played for the Fargo-Moorhead Beez for two games in 2002, and another three for Sioux Falls to close out the season. He is a projected starter for Sioux Falls this year, and in the off season continues to remain a fixture of the local D.C. street-ball leagues.
Cheikh Ya-Ya Dia (COL ’97)
Scoring 8.1 points per game in his final season with the Hoyas in 1997, Dia spent the following year playing in Uruguay. He was drafted by Grand Rapids in the third round of the CBA draft, but lasted only one season in the U.S. before being waived and heading back to South America. He played the following season with Regatas San Nicolas in Argentina, and moved to Australia for the next three years, where he was named to the Australian NBL Imports First Team in 2000. Following that season, he came back to America to play in the Los Angeles Pro-Am Summer League, and from there left for Italy, where he averaged 16.3 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game last season for Premiata Calzatura Montegranaro.
Kenny Brunner
One of Georgetown’s top recruits in the mid-1990s, Brunner is also unmistakably one of the school’s most notorious. After leading the team in scoring, assists and steals in his freshman season at Georgetown, he transferred to Fresno State to play under Jerry Tarkanian. There, his off-court antics made headlines, as he was charged with threatening one of his fellow students with a Samurai sword, and accused of robbery and attempted murder. He was acquitted in the Samurai case and the robbery and attempted murder charges were dropped before he ever went to trial. He then decided to leave Fresno for the virtual seclusion of Southern Idaho Community College, at one point leading a team boycott. Jim Harrick of the University of Georgia attempted to bring him back into Division I basketball the following year, but University President Michael F. Adams stepped in and rejected the proposed move. After a stint at Salem International University, a small Division II school in West Virginia, that lasted less than a month, Brunner was signed to a pro contract by the San Diego Wildfire of the American Basketball Association, and made his professional debut in 2001. “In my mind, I feel I should already be in the NBA by now,” Brunner told The San Diego Union Tribune in an interview last season. “But just to be on the court again is definitely a blessing considering all I’ve been through.”
Brendan Gaughan (MSB ’96)
Recruited to Georgetown as a kicker for the football team when it was making the jump to NCAA Division I-AA, Gaughan was a walk-on for the basketball team in 1994, and in turn, helped pave the way for future two-sport athletes at the Hilltop like Gharun Hester (COL ’01), senior David Paulus and senior Trenton Hillier. Although he seldom saw any playing time in games, Gaughan spent two seasons in the difficult role of guarding Allen Iverson in practice. On a team that additionally included current NBA players Jahidi White (COL ’98) and Othella Harrington (COL ’96), the Hoyas made an appearance in the 1996 NCAA Tournament, where Gaughan saw some action – though only a minute. When Gaughan stepped off the basketball court, however, he began one of the most unlikely of climbs to prominence in professional athletics. Opting for racecars instead of basketball, he won NASCAR Winston West Series titles in 2000 and 2001, and last year was named the top rookie in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series. Last summer, he was ranked No. 11 in the NASCAR truck points standings, earned a victory in the O’Reilly 400 and claimed five additional top-10 series finishes.
Sleepy Floyd (COL ’82)
After a long and productive NBA career with the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, Eric “Sleepy” Floyd, like Gaughan, has made several dramatic career changes. He built, managed and operated a restaurant named Cafe Fresco, and later founded Saxa Financial Management in Houston, where he used his NBA contacts to find investors for various startup companies. Having recently been seen walking the sidelines of the Southern California Summer Pro League, Floyd said in a 2001 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle that he is looking to make a return to NBA – this time as a coach. “I have a hunger to get back closer to the game,” he said.
