Two of the best basketball players to come out of Downers Grove are returning to their roots this weekend.
Taking an offseason break from his professional basketball career in France, former Downers Grove South and Southern Illinois University star point guard Bryan Mullins will join with his brother Brendan (also a former Downers South star who now is director of basketball operations at Wright State University) to conduct a two-day basketball camp Monday and Tuesday at Hinsdale South High School.
“We held it last year in the middle of the summer,” Bryan Mullins said. “We’re both home and went to camps all our lives, and for kids around here we thought having it late in the summer would be a good idea to give kids another chance to play.”
With high school camps over, the Mullins’ two-day camp will offer not only an exclusive time frame but unique high-level experiences from both brothers.
After Brendan’s series of big late-game shots helped Downers South to the Class AA quarterfinals in his senior year of high school, the elder Mullins went on to an excellent college career at St. Michael’s College in Vermont.
He is now rapidly ascending through the college coaching ranks, having moved from Wisconsin-Green Bay to Wright State (which finished 20-12 and lost to national runner-up Butler in the Horizon League title game last year).
Brendan’s fast-moving career has been matched by younger brother Bryan. The star point guard on Downers South teams that went downstate, his recent 14-month basketball odyssey since graduating from Southern Illinois has taken him from the NBA Summer League to the Irish National Team and finally a pro league in France.
“The (NBA) Summer League was obviously the highest level in terms of the people I played against,” said Mullins, who played for both the Celtics and Bulls last summer. “You’re playing against guys you’ve seen on TV and No. 1 picks in the draft.”
Mullins’ game benefited from the presence of Celtics’ point guard Rajon Rondo, who was an assistant coach during the team’s one-week Summer League stay.
The brush with top future NBA players was just the start, as Mullins next headed to Ireland to join the national team for a tournament.
“My dad’s parents are from Ireland, and the Irish team was a great group of guys,” Mullins said. “We played against national teams from Georgia, Slovakia, Sweden and Slovania, and I was the team’s leading scorer which was kind of new to me.”
That brief sojourn into European culture was followed by a season with a pro team in France. Playing for JL Bourg, Mullins averaged nine points, 5.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
“I left in August and was there for 10 months,” Mullins said. “There were usually three or four Americans on every team, and culturally it’s a different lifestyle. It’s not as fast paced — they take their time with everything, and people have a lot of vacation time. Everything’s closed on Sunday, compared to coming back here and a lot of places are open 24/7.”
Now well adjusted to the culture change, Mullins will return to France this season to play for a team in the larger city of Reims.
“I’m looking forward to that,” Mullins said, “and each year I’ll re-evaluate it. I want to do the NBA Summer League again but this year was a long year for me with the Irish National Team. But I hope to do it again next summer. It’s a great opportunity.”
Before his next basketball adventure, Mullins will join his brother Brendan at Hinsdale South for two days of sharing their combined extensive knowledge of basketball with the next generation of players.
“I’ve gone to a couple of high school camps and talked to kids, and I’ve always said the biggest teacher is learning from older people,” said Mullins, who spent last week back at Southern Illinois working with the Salukis’ current guards. “I’ve had a lot of great players over the years take time out to show me new things.
“I can’t complain. I was injured my senior year (at Southern Illinois), but it was such an unbelievable experience,” Mullins said of a college career that included a trip to the NCAA tournament Sweet 16. “I was fortunate to be part of a great group of guys there and at Downers South. Those were special teams, something I’ll never forget.”
More information and registration for the camp is available by e-mailing mullinsbrothersbball@yahoo.com.
