| The forward is a scribe BY MIKE UNGER
Larry French |
Brayden Billbe has never had a shortage of opinions when it comes to sports, and throughout his lifetime it’s usually been the written word to which he’s turned in order to express them. “Ever since I was a little kid I would always take the paper out and read the sports section,” said Billbe, a senior on AU’s men’s basketball team. “I’d write sports columns for myself. I love sports, I played all the sports when I was a kid. I like talking about them, and if I can’t play them professionally, the next best thing is being around them.” The jury is still out on the future of Billbe’s basketball career. The 6-foot-10-inch forward has steadily improved during his four years at AU, and is averaging 6.7 points and a career-high 5.5 rebounds per game this season. He’s considering pursuing a spot with a foreign team after graduating with a journalism degree this spring, but whether that happens or not, there’s no question as to his long-term ambitions. “My biggest goal is to have a vote [for] the baseball hall of fame,” said Billbe, an ardent Seattle Mariners fan. “You have to be in the baseball writers guild for 10 years. I’m going to apply for some jobs and keep my basketball options open. I’d like to play overseas, but if a good opportunity comes along in writing, it would be hard to turn that down, because that’s eventually what I want my career to be.” AU head coach Jeff Jones recruited Billbe when he was a tall but lanky and sometimes uncoordinated high school senior in Mercer Island, Wash. He’s seen Billbe’s development into a solid player on the court and successful student off it. “He’s worked hard in the off-season the past couple of years,” Jones said. “He’s still not that real physical specimen, but he’s much stronger and that’s helped his game. We’re always on him, always pushing him to play tougher, but he’s made some big strides and he’s a very important cog in our team. “He’s a very nice kid, very bright, very well rounded,” Jones said. “He’s a social guy, he communicates well. I think he’ll do well [in journalism].” A West Coaster at heart, Billbe nevertheless chose AU because of its Washington location and his comfort level with Jones and the coaching staff. “I’d been to D.C. during my sophomore year of high school, and I really liked it,” he said. “I’m a history minor, and as far as history in this country goes, D.C. is the place to be.” His adjustment from high school to college ball was difficult; the physical nature of play in the Patriot League kept him on the bench most of his freshman year. “I came in really weak, but my conditioning has improved,” he said last week while clutching a ball, adhering to Jones’s temporary order to carry one at all times. “I’ve gotten a lot better at ball handling, and my outside shot has gotten better.” Billbe played a key role in AU’s important 55-46 win over Navy last week, scoring 11 points and grabbing six rebounds. “Without the plays he made, we would not have won the game,” Jones told the Washington Post. The Post is the caliber of paper Billbe would like to one day wind up at. Until he gets there, he’s content writing sports columns for the Eagle and interning in AU’s athletic communications office, which he’ll do once the season ends. “He has great sentiments when he writes,” said senior Erin Keaveney, the Eagle’s sports editor. “He’s pretty concise, he doesn’t
ramble. We don’t get a lot of athletes that want to come write. I thought that was pretty cool that he came to me. He’s very motivated, and I find that encouraging.” When Billbe gets the urge to express himself on a sports topic that’s gnawing at him, his first inclination remains to sit down at his computer and bang out a column. “My favorite column I’ve written I didn’t even publish,” he said. “It was about [Mariners pitcher] Felix Hernandez. I sent it to a friend of mine, and it ended up being five pages long. I’m really a big fan.” |
