When Dane Brumagin is on the floor, scoring is likely the end result.

Kangaroo on the rise, Mid-Missourian develops game in the heartland

By: Dan Stroud

Posted: 3/10/08

Growing up in a small town and attending an even smaller school was never much of a concern for UMKC junior forward Dane Brumagin. The place he calls home is Montgomery City, a town located in the heart of Missouri just 40 miles east of Columbia.

As if that didn't limit his social interaction enough, the 6'4" Brumagin attended Warrenton Christian High School, which included approximately 50 students in the entire institution.

His senior class consisted of two people, including himself. He was the Valedictorian.

"I used to get kidded about that a lot," Brumagin said, laughing. "But I never minded the size really … I had the ball in my hands a lot."

That might be an understatement. The Kangaroos' leading scorer recounted a story about him playing in a game on Valentines Day his junior year in high school.

He said he scored 55 points that night, 41 of which came in the first half alone. He hit 10 three-pointers in the first stanza and one more in the second.

"They pulled me out early in the second half," Brumagin said.

This statement coming from most athletes might come across in an arrogant light. But Brumagin's character is such that anyone who stops to listen can easily pick up the humility of character this player seems to possess.

UMKC senior forward Brent Stephens was asked in a humorous tone to give up some dirt on his teammate. With a shrug of his uninjured shoulder, Stephens offered no discouraging insight.

"You can't really get much dirt on Dane," Stephens mused. "He pretty much stays out of trouble."

On one two-day turnaround in December, Brumagin offered his new coaching staff and anyone else interested in the UMKC men's basketball program a taste of things that might well be yet to come.

On Dec. 6, the junior scorer put up 40 points against Oakland University and two nights later added 35 more against Indiana University Purdue University-Fort Wayne.

The 75-point total in back-to-back performances, on just one day of rest, has not been duplicated this season. Only Kansas State University freshman phenom Michael Beasley has come close with 74 points and only one day off in between games.

UMKC head basketball coach Matt Brown sees similarities between Brumagin and another player he coached at West Virginia.

"[Brumagin] reminds me of Mike Gansey, who like Dane was an undersized player who was a tough competitive kid," Brown said. "[Brumagin] has been great. His best basketball is ahead of him."

Gansey was a 2006 All-Big East Selection who finished that season as a top-10 finalist for the Wooden Award, given to the top NCAA Division I basketball player in the nation.

It hasn't been all roses for Brumagin this year, however. Plagued by injuries most of the season, he has learned to battle through and has continued to progress as a player.

UMKC assistant basketball coach Kareem Richardson, the junior's position coach, has seen a great deal of development in Brumagin's game over the course of this season.

"[Brumagin] has a tremendous work ethic," Richardson said. "He probably hasn't been 100 percent all year. He's a great shooter and with work on his mid-range game on both sides of the ball, he'll only get better."

Richardson also noted that Brumagin is learning the nuances of effective man-to-man defense for the first time in his career, whether in high school or college.

It appeared obvious in a very short time period that Brumagin shared many of his coach's concerns about his game.

"I still feel I have a lot to learn," Brumagin said. "Everything I'd learned to date was scratched out. I've learned so much this year about the ins and outs of the game, especially on defense … but there's still more I need to pick up."

There is also quite a bit more to the wiring of this Kangaroo star in-the-making. The player he always wanted to model his basketball career around was former San Antonio Spurs superstar David Robinson.

Their games are far from similar - Robinson was a seven-foot tall, big man. But it was the former NBA player's character that Brumagin looked to model.

"It was all about what [Robinson] stood for," Brumagin said. "He was a family-oriented person - faith was important to him."

The Roo junior acknowledged these traits are extremely important to him as well.

"I feel like God has opened one door after another for me, and I never want to lose track of that," Brumagin said.

With the Summit League tournament fast approaching, the team's leading scorer and rebounder with 17.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game respectively, didn't want to talk much about the future. There were still games to be played, right here and now.

There have been ups and downs this season for the Kangaroos, including season-ending injuries to forward Stephens and center Alex Pledger, as well as a great many growing pains that come with learning a new system.

Brumagin himself suffered a severe ankle sprain that hampered his play over several games. He feels the injury was something he needed to learn to fight through.

"It was my first real injury in school," Brumagin said. "But when I'm out there I still give it all I've got - it just doesn't seem like me … it's been frustrating."

There were positives that came out of his limited ability to perform at what are high levels of expectation. He now sees the way the season has shook out as a boon for a Roo squad headed into the post-season

"Some of the younger guys have gotten a chance to step in and play a lot more," he said. "They're really starting to play a lot better. We're all starting to get a handle on each others tendencies. It's pretty exciting."

dstroud@unews.com