By Chris Hunn

Former guard on Yale's men's basketball team Javier Duren dribbled through Ivy League defenses as if the ball was attached to his hand by a string. The 6-foot-4 lefty boasted a silky-smooth jumper and had a knack for setting his teammates up for easy baskets.

His game was impressive.

Duren polished off his career, earning first-team All-Ivy honors as a senior last season. He is eighth on the Bulldogs all-time assist list (314), ninth in steals (127) and finished with 1,134 career points.

But perhaps the moment that best captures Duren is one that came off the court. Following a heartbreaking loss to rival Harvard in the Ivy League playoff, Duren handled himself in a way that not many seniors playing in their final collegiate game would during a postgame press conference. There were no tears. No short answers or anger either.

"Man, I'm just blessed," said Duren, an upbeat tone during the postgame press conference. "That's the only word that I can say. Not many people get to be a part of this experience. I had my parents come in from St. Louis, drove 14 hours just to see this game. It's probably the most fun game I've been a part of in my Yale career."

He answered each reporter's question considerately. He was poised, just as he was in big moments on the court throughout his Yale career.

"I was definitely upset," recalls Duren. "But as upset as I was, in that moment I couldn't help but be humbled by the experience and grateful to God. You dream of that kind of situation as a Yale basketball player."

Duren certainly left his mark on the Yale program, both on and off the hardwood. Bulldogs head coach James Jones described him as the "heart and soul" of the team. He was the guy getting the final shot and the player that was going to make a play for us, Jones added.

"He was our glue," Jones said. "He was our leader."

Duren is now embarking on a new journey and it hasn't taken him long to find success. He's playing for Aris Leeuwarden in the Dutch Basketball League, the top in country. He's leading the league in scoring at 18 points per game and was recently selected to play in the all-star game.

The game is different, he says. The pace is faster and it's more structured. But Duren has adjusted well. He's also learning to speak Dutch and enjoying some new food.

"I've always wanted to travel," Duren said. "So to be in a different country doing what I love is a blessing."

Duren commemorates Black History Month by wearing special Black History Month socks and shoes. He says it's a time to celebrate how African-Americans have contributed, and continue to contribute, to American society.
 
"As I've gotten older," Duren said. "I've began to celebrate the month by bringing awareness to our struggles as a people group and how they shape us into the individuals we are today."