There are any number of first-generation college students at Metro State. But you don't necessarily expect them to be Australian. Then again, you might not expect to even find an Australian at the college—unless you've been following the men's basketball team for the last few years. (If you have, you know that Head Coach Mike Dunlap formerly coached the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League in Australia and has done some recruiting there.)

Well, there is a first-generation Australian college student at Metro and his name is Mark Worthington. As you've probably guessed, he plays basketball for Coach Dunlap. But Worthington is not just a basketball player, he's the NCAA Division II Player of the Year as chosen by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He's the second student-athlete from Metro to be named Player of the Year this season; Senior midfielder Ymara Guante was named the Division II Women's Soccer Player of the Year after the Roadrunners won the national championship.

Even though Worthington and his teammates were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Elite Eight tournament last week, he still has an NCAA Division II championship under his belt. As a freshman, Worthington helped propel the Roadrunners to their second championship in 2001-02.

"Now that I'm getting older [He's the ripe old age of 21], I realize what an impressive feat it is to even make it to the finals, let alone win," Worthington said. He described the experience of getting to play in six Elite Eight games during his Metro career as an absolute privilege. He even went so far as to say that he really believed that Virginia Union—the team that ousted the Roadrunners last week—would go on to win it all, and they did.

"Virginia Union was very athletic, very disciplined and well-coached," he says. "I have nothing but respect for them."

He has even more respect for his own teammates and coaches, though. "I'm proud to be a part of an organization that's done so well. I put my teammates before any award that I've been given," Worthington says.

You get the feeling that he means it, that it's not just a cliché being spouted by an athlete. No, Worthington seems to understand what a great opportunity these four years at Metro have been, both on and off the court.

"I didn't think I'd earn a college degree," he says. "Part of it is that I think college isn't as valued in Australia as it is here. I'll have more and better opportunities with my degree, though."

A senior broadcast journalism major with a GPA over 3.0, Worthington is set to graduate this May. His immediate goal is to continue playing basketball; a few professional Australian teams have already expressed interest. "I hope to get a lot of phone calls over the next few weeks. I want to keep my options open."

And when the basketball career ends, he'll start a new one, using his bachelor's degree to pursue a career in radio.