What Happens to College Stars who flame out?
Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 6:59 pm
Many of you probably remember Kevin Pittsnogle college basketball player from West Virginia. He was one of the better players in the country and led the team to an elite 8 appearance in 05 and a sweet 16 appearance in 06.
He finished his career with the 6th most points in a career (1,708), the 2nd best 3-point field goal percentage in a career (41.1%), the 25th most rebounds in a career (563), the most games played in a career (128) and the ninth most games started in a career (105) in school history.
Expected to be taken in the 2006 NBA Draft, neither Pittsnogle nor his teammate, shooting guard Mike Gansey, were chosen by any teams. Although Pittsnogle was predicted in most mock drafts as being chosen in the early-to-mid second round, he went undrafted and thus became a free agent.
Where is he now?
Now, at 24, he is a middle school teacher in his hometown. He is also an unpaid assistant coach for a high school basketball team. He bowls in leagues three nights a week and occasionally plays bingo at Big Bucks Bingo. His wife, Heather, is a bank teller. They have two children and live in a double-wide trailer, and together they wonder how much appetite they have for uprooting their lives again so Pittsnogle can have one more chance at a basketball career. According to the story, his weight has ballooned to about 300 pounds, and pro teams are telling him he needs to lose weight to get back in the game.
He finished his career with the 6th most points in a career (1,708), the 2nd best 3-point field goal percentage in a career (41.1%), the 25th most rebounds in a career (563), the most games played in a career (128) and the ninth most games started in a career (105) in school history.
Expected to be taken in the 2006 NBA Draft, neither Pittsnogle nor his teammate, shooting guard Mike Gansey, were chosen by any teams. Although Pittsnogle was predicted in most mock drafts as being chosen in the early-to-mid second round, he went undrafted and thus became a free agent.
Where is he now?
Now, at 24, he is a middle school teacher in his hometown. He is also an unpaid assistant coach for a high school basketball team. He bowls in leagues three nights a week and occasionally plays bingo at Big Bucks Bingo. His wife, Heather, is a bank teller. They have two children and live in a double-wide trailer, and together they wonder how much appetite they have for uprooting their lives again so Pittsnogle can have one more chance at a basketball career. According to the story, his weight has ballooned to about 300 pounds, and pro teams are telling him he needs to lose weight to get back in the game.