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Ex-HCC Players Hope NBA In Their Future

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By NICK WILLIAMS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 23, 2008

LAKE BUENA VISTA - Hillsborough Community College men's basketball coach Derrick Worrels sat in the stands in the Mike House gym at Disney's Wide World of Sports, staring down at the courts below where his former players, Othello Hunter and Keith Brumbaugh, were working out in front of dozens of NBA scouts.

Not long ago, Worrels helped change the lives of both men, who could be selected in the second round in Thursday's NBA draft.

Brumbaugh was a five-star recruit coming out of DeLand High and was named Florida's 2005 Mr. Basketball his senior year. He declared for the NBA draft that year, but he withdrew and signed with Oklahoma State, where he was deemed academically ineligible as a freshman. He transferred to Chipola College in Marianna after one semester at OSU, but left the community college months later.

According to a Volusia County arrest report, on May 20, 2006, the 6-foot-9 small forward was arrested in Orange City for fleeing and eluding police and resisting arrest without violence.

Seeking a fresh start, Brumbaugh signed with HCC in 2007, and led the nation's junior college ranks with 35 points per game while staying out of trouble.

"That's the biggest 180, is my character," Brumbaugh said. "That's most important as far as my transformation."

Hunter, a 6-8 power forward, bagged groceries in his hometown of Winston-Salem, N.C., before friends and a high school basketball coach convinced him to play his senior year. Even though he didn't start on the varsity squad, small colleges were still interested. Because of academic problems, it was recommended that he attend HCC.

Two years later, Hunter transferred to Ohio State and played alongside last year's No. 1 draft pick, Greg Oden, en route to the 2007 NCAA championship game.

"I think Coach Worrels is a good recruiter," Hunter said. "Most of the time, it's the guys you don't think are going to be anything, then they sprout up and become something."

Brumbaugh and Hunter are nearing a life as professional basketball players, a life that didn't look possible years ago.

"It seems like God led me in these places," Hunter said.

"I've been down in the trenches, I fought my way out of the trenches and I'm still fighting," Brumbaugh said. "No matter the outcome, I'm still going to fight."

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 865-4848 or nwilliams@tampatrib.com.

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