If someone watched them practice, they might be mistaken for a Division I basketball team. Intricate passes are distributed throughout the court, a coach is explaining defensive sets and someone is throwing down a nonchalant dunk every thirty seconds.
Then you remember that you are standing in Wilson Recreation Center, and the tallest of these players is only about 6-foot-6.
Duke students are often lauded for being entrepreneurial and innovative. But these Duke undergraduate and graduate students, along with one student from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, have done something unique—they formed their own semi-professional basketball team.
“At the beginning of the year, I realized that while I like playing [intramurals] and pickup, I wanted something more,” senior and team founder David Muoser said. “I missed really competitive basketball…so I literally went on Google and started searching for local leagues."
Muoser, like many of his teammates, played basketball in high school and turned down the chance to play in college in order to come to Duke. After being away from competition for so long, Muoser was looking for a way back in.
After his Google search, Muoser stumbled upon the Tobacco Road Basketball League and decided to form his own team, the Triangle Run N' Gun. The TRBL has been alive for four years, with teams throughout North and South Carolina and plans to expand to Atlanta and Auburn, Ala. This is the Run N’ Gun’s first season in the league. Most of the players in the league have collegiate experience, and some—like the Run N’ Gun’s own Milan Prodanovic—have played professionally overseas.
Prodanovic, a second-year law student, is a former Iona College standout and finished second all-time for the Gaels in three-point shots made. After graduating, he ventured to Europe where he played professionally for two different clubs in the Serbian National League before returning to the states and coming to Duke.
“The experience is quite rewarding,” Prodanovic said. “It is rare to see a group of kids from one of the top academic institutions in the world play basketball with the passion and dedication that my teammates have demonstrated."
Muoser knew that the team would need leadership in order to become a legitimate contender in a semi-professional league. Fortunately, seniors and Duke basketball managers Mike Sotsky and Derek Rhodes answered the call.
Sotsky, a New Jersey native, began coaching in eighth grade and has not looked back. After graduating high school, Sotsky took his talents to Duke where he, along with Rhodes, became a manager for Duke's varsity squad—a position that has enabled them to learn from professional coaches while following Coach Mike Krzyzewski through the national team circuit.
“It has been an incredible group to work with because each of the players is committed, hard-working, loyal and team-oriented," Sotsky said. "At our first practice, I told the team, ‘I'm going to end up learning a lot more from you than you'll learn from me.’ This has absolutely been true.”
The Run N’ Gun will start the season with back-to-back games, the first of which is Dec. 6 against Team Certified from Winston-Salem, N.C. The second game will be Dec. 7 against the Wilmington Sea Dawgs, who recently signed a player from the AND1 Streetball Tour and another who played last season for the Memphis Tigers.
Prodanovic said the goal is simple and straightforward—to win the championship of the top semi-pro league in the Carolinas.
"We are athletic, skilled and well coached," Prodanovic said. "I truly think the sky is the limit with this group.”
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