Rocky Mount, N.C. - Former North Carolina Wesleyan men's basketball standout Brandon Givens has signed to play professionally with the Colombia Piratas, a Latin Basketball affiliate and National Basketball Club located in Bogota.
Givens joins the Piratas after a very impressive year with Atlanta's GIE Maile Matrix. Playing with the Universal Basketball Association affiliate, Givens was named to the USbasket.com/UBA All-Playoffs Second Team after spending the preseason with Basket Esch in Luxembourg.
A professional career has been a life-long dream for Givens, who captured the nation's scoring title and set a new program record for scoring average at 26.8 points per game for the Bishops in 2013. Named a First Team All-American and the USA South's Player of the Year that season, the Ruffin, S.C. native is the 14th Wesleyan player in history to play professionally.
"We are certainly excited for Brandon as he embraces this newest opportunity in Colombia," said NC Wesleyan head coach John Thompson. "He is a tremendous talent and a great person who is very deserving of this opportunity."
Thompson continued, "We are honored to have Brandon as a part of our basketball family. I know that he will continue to represent North Carolina Wesleyan well over the course of what I believe will be a long and successful career."
Givens departed for Bogota earlier this week and will join the team immediately.