MMBOW #5: Dane Brumagin, Missouri-Kansas City

The Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos (3-7, 0-2 SL) are off to a tough start in Badlands Conference play, dropping their first couple of games on the road. But that shouldn't detract from a week by a player whose team just hasn't caught up with his greatness yet. For scoring 75 points in two league away games, UMKC junior guard Dane Brumagin is our fifth Mid-Majority Baller of the Week.

Last week, we made prominent mention of his Thursday performance at Oakland, a 114-105 overtime loss in which Brumagin became the first 40-point scorer this season to do so in under 30 minutes -- our database doesn't go far enough back to find the last time that happened in a game between two Division I schools. In just 28 minutes, Brumagin shot 12-for-17 from the floor, added nine free throws, and scored 40 before fouling out. His followup performance was nearly as impressive: 14-for-20 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line on the way to 35 points at IPFW in a nine-point loss. Sure, the Kangaroos didn't get any wins out of the trip, but Brumagin's two stellar performances came on the road, which is always impressive on own merits.

Mr. Brumagin hails from nearby Montgomery City, Mo., a three-hour drive east on I-70. It looks like an absolutely great place to live and raise your kids, if you don't ming having a dot-matrix mayor. He was a prep star at Warrenton Christian high school, where he was honorably mentioned on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch all-metro team for averaging nearly 26 points and 14 rebounds as a senior. His college career has been slowly ascendant: showing up for some minutes as a freshman, cracking the starting five as a sophomore and emerging as the team's shooting star this year. Brumagin leads the team in scoring (20.3 ppg), field goal percentage (54.4 percent), and a bunch of efficiency stats: points per shot (1.41), average efficiency (20) and points per 40 minutes (28.5). His school bio says he's undecided on a major. We suggest a B.A. in basket-filling. Congratulations, Dane, you're the Mid-Majority Baller of the Week.