PersonalizeThe Washington PostRedskins/NFLCapitals/NHLWizards/NBANationals/MLBDC United/SoccerCollegesAllMetSportsOther SportsBlogs & ColumnsPost TicketsIn the NewsSarah Burke dies Prince Fielder New England Patriots Bruce Boudreau Gary Carter ???initialComments:true! pubdate:01/19/2012 14:41 EST! commentPeriod:14! commentEndDate:2/2/12 2:41 EST! currentDate:1/20/12 12:0 EST! allowComments:true! displayComments:true!Nigel Munson finds home with UDC basketball after a long journey 
Mark Gail/THE WASHINGTON POST - “Basically, I’ve learned how to not give up when stuff is thrown your way. Basically, not giving up and keep fighting through ’cause life is not perfect,” said Nigel Munson, whose basketball career started at Virginia Tech but continues at UDC.
Text SizePrintE-mailReprints By Kathy Orton, During a recent University of the District of Columbia basketball practice, Nigel Munson spotted a teammate open underneath the basket and whipped him the ball. Unfortunately, the player was unprepared for Munson’s pass and the ball glided through his hands and out of bounds.
“He’d have two or three more assists a game if these guys could hang on to the ball and make their shots,” grumbled Coach Jeff Ruland, the former Washington Bullets star who is in his third season at UDC, a Division II program.
Loading...CommentsWeigh InCorrections?Munson appeared indifferent to his teammate’s blunder as he hustled down the court to play defense. The former DeMatha standout whose career at Virginia Tech looked so promising his freshman year is just happy to be playing basketball, even if it is in a dingy gym located in an industrial park-like structure known as Building 47 on UDC’s campus in Northwest Washington.
It’s far from the glamour of the ACC. But it’s basketball, and that’s enough for Munson.
“I love basketball,” Munson said. “I’ve got a passion for it.”
Division II can be a refuge for players and coaches who, for whatever reason, lost their way at Division I. Three of Munson’s teammates are Division I transfers, and Ruland spent nine years as coach of his alma mater, Iona, taking the Gaels to three NCAA tournaments before being fired in 2007.
No one would have guessed Munson would wind up at a Division II school when he was at DeMatha. He was the point guard on one of the best teams in the area, if not the country. His final two years, the Stags went 63-3 and won two Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles. His senior season, DeMatha was ranked No. 4 nationally by USA Today.
Several of his fellow first-team All-Met members in 2006 — Player of the Year Kevin Durant, Scottie Reynolds, Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes — would go on to have outstanding college careers. Munson, however, took a more circuitous path.
By most accounts, Munson flourished his freshman year at Virginia Tech. He averaged three points, 1.1 assists and 11.1 minutes. He made the game-tying free throw at North Carolina to help the Hokies upset the then-No. 4 Tar Heels in overtime.
“I thought everything was great,” said Anthony Langley, Munson’s AAU coach. “The next thing I know he’s like, ‘I’m not going back,’ and I’m in a state of shock. I think everybody was.”
Munson cited two reasons for his departure: He wanted to be closer to his family and he was unnerved by the April 16, 2007, massacre at the school that claimed the lives of 32 people.
“I think if the shooting didn’t happen and the family situation, I would have stuck it out at Virginia Tech ’cause I think it was a good fit for me,” Munson said. “Everything was so crazy. I wanted to come back home, and being homesick, all that played in.”
But Langley also thinks that Munson needed a break from the pressures and demands of high-level basketball.
“He had been on this whirlwind basketball, I guess, treadmill,” he said. “I think he just had to figure out what he wanted to do, and it basically took two years.”
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