By RYAN FELDMAN
For The Trentonian

Basketball fans in Trenton and in Germany have one thing in common - they know who Christian Burns is.

They also know about how talented he is. But Burns wants basketball fans throughout America to know about his skills.

In 2007, life was great for Burns. The Hamilton native was named Division II Player of the Year at Philadelphia University and was invited to the NBA Summer League with the Philadelphia 76ers. But 2½ years later, Burns is in Germany still dreaming of one day making the NBA.

Burns, a 6-foot-8 combo forward, is playing professional basketball for Ratiopharm Ulm in the BBL, the top league in Germany. He is averaging 16.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season.

Burns' teammates include Lee Humphrey, a starting guard from the 2006 and 2007 National Champion Florida Gators, and John Bryant, a starting forward from the Saint Joseph's team that was No. 1 in the country during the 2003-04 season.

Some of the other notable players in the BBL include Casey Jacobsen (Stanford), Rodney Buford (76ers) and Jason Gardner (Arizona).

Burns is one of the best players in the BBL and is living a happy life in Germany. He got married on July 17 and had a baby boy (Brooklyn Benedict Burns) in December. Along with their dog, the new Burns family is enjoying life, even though it is thousands of miles from America.

"We're pretty accustomed to the place (in Germany)," Christian said. "Germany has everything America has. It's no different. It's pretty easy."

It may be easy now that Burns is settled in Germany, but he isn't content, and it hasn't been an easy journey.

A graduate of Hamilton High in 2003, where he averaged 19.8 points, 15.3 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game as a senior, Burns originally attended Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.

After not receiving the playing time he thought he deserved, he transferred to Division II Philadelphia University in 2005 with two years of eligibility remaining. He immediately made the most out of his second opportunity, averaging 16.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a junior.

As a senior in 2006-07, Burns really emerged as a star, averaging 20.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game and being named the Division II Player of the Year.

Upon his success at Philadelphia University, the 76ers invited Burns to play with them in the NBA Summer League in 2007. After practicing with the 76ers and getting ready to shine in the Summer League and prove that he was good enough to play in the NBA, one of the guards on the team's Summer League roster (former Syracuse star Gerry McNamara) sprained his ankle. The 76ers were forced to replace McNamara with another guard, and Burns was the last man on the totem pole. After getting cut, he had to look for other basketball options for his future.

"Now I'm a totally different player," said Burns. "It would've been a totally different story now. I was a little timid coming from Division II and jumping right in there with NBA players. My game has completely developed. It's a totally different story."

The first stop for Burns was Poland, where he averaged 8.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in his first year as a professional basketball player. Next, he moved on to Portugal, where he really emerged as a top-flight professional player with 18.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Now, it's Germany. But Burns hopes the next stop on his world tour is back home in America, where he believes he has the talent to play in the NBA. After having various NBA executives come to his team's practices in Germany, Burns is confident that he will be playing in the NBA Summer League this summer.

"It's a grind to get back in there if you don't get drafted," Burns said about the NBA. "I'm playing very well over here and taking baby steps to get back in there. I'm really pushing for the NBA Summer League for sure and hopefully I'll impress someone enough to get on a team. It's pretty much a definite that I'll get in the NBA Summer League."

Burns has done well for himself and his family as a star in Europe. But he has a dream, and he won't stop following that dream to play in the NBA until it happens.

Anybody who has seen him play over the summer at Cadwalader Park sees the unique basketball talent that he has. But if everything goes as planned, people in Trenton won't see him at Cadwalader Park over the summer.

Instead, he'll be back in America year-round living his dream of playing in the NBA.