Brian Ligon is ready for life after basketball
Written by Phillip Haywood
ST. PETERSBURG FL – Many of today’s college athletes have aspirations of going professional after attending college for four years. But, how many are actually ready to start working in the real world? Brian Ligon is a prime example of a student athlete who has taken advantage of a scholarship and who has taken his education to an exceptional level. Ligon was a 2003 graduate of Lakewood High School where he was the captain of the basketball team. In 2002 he was one of the catalysts who led his team to a State Basketball Championship. Here is a little known fact Ligon also played baseball for the Spartans for several seasons. Actually Ligons first love was baseball. But we all know that baseball is not the sport of choice for African Americans in this Pinellas County. To let the truth be told Ligon was pretty good at the sport. What made Ligon stray away from the game was the fact that his high school coach thought he placed more emphasis on basketball than baseball and his playing time started to diminish so Ligon began to fully concentrate on basketball. Ligons name was placed in the Amateur Baseball Draft in 2003.
Ligon later earned a basketball scholarship to Butler University, where he was a starter even though he battled through two knee surgeries. Ligon was not a flashy player but he was one of those types of player who would go all out for four quarters. Ligon was known as a consummate team player. During his academic career at Butler, Ligon on an occasion had taken 19 and 21 hours in consecutive semesters. He required special permission from the Dean of Academics at Butler. Carrying such a heavy academic load allowed Ligon to graduate on time. Furthermore he graduated with a 3.2 GPA.
While growing up his parent stressed the importance of academics. They are owners and operators of a General Dentistry company here in St. Petersburg. Following graduation he had several options, play professionally overseas or attend Me harry Medical School in Nashville Tennessee. He pondered really hard about his situation and after careful consideration he decided to follow in the footsteps of his mother and father to study General Dentistry. The Ligons have been practicing here in St. Petersburg for well over 25 years. Actually, his deceased uncle Julius Ligon started the practice on 22nd Street South. Ligon recently finished his internship at the VA Hospital in Bay Pines.
In a nutshell Ligon knew that he could have gone and played basketball professionally in Europe, but the bottom line is he was well aware that life after basketball would soon start. He could have not have picked a better time. Ligon says, “If I could leave a person with some words of encouragement it would be, ordinary people are afforded extraordinary opportunities and to succeed you must take advantage and capitalize.” In the end Brian Ligon is just an ordinary guy who took advantage of an extraordinary opportunity and he seized the moment. There is life after sports!
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