Killen finished his career in the top 10 in SMU history in three-pointers and steals (photo by SMU athletics).

Most student-athletes who enroll in college have some kind of a dream — or at least a plan. Some want to take a shot at the professional ranks. Some want a successful non-athletic career. Others want to go to graduate school.

SMU guard Jon Killen could do any of the three.

The 2007-08 third-team All-Conference USA honoree could enter the workforce with the rest of the graduated senior class. But he has options.

When the Dallas Mavericks were working out potential draftees, Killen was among a group of players brought in to give the draft candidates a good workout against talented players.

“Gallo Fall — Bamba’s uncle — suggested they bring me in,” Killen said. “They were bringing in their prospects, and they needed players who could come in and give them some competition.”

Killen didn’t expect to sneak into the draft through his showing with the Mavs, and he didn’t. But that doesn’t necessarily mean his playing days are over. He has an offer to join the Cuxhaven BasCat club in Germany as its starting point guard, and said there’s a possibility of additional offers from European teams. If he doesn’t head overseas, he also has been accepted to the MBA program in SMU’s Cox School of Business.

His offer from Cuxhaven is firm. “It’s a one-year contract,” Killen said, “a standing offer, not a tryout. The (SMU) coaches sent over game tape, and they (the Cuxhaven coaches) liked what they saw. They said they want me to come be their starting point guard.

“But I’m holding off on this offer, because there are a couple of agents working with myself and Coach Doherty to see what other options there are. The agent for Ike Ofuegbu (who played professionally last season in Belgium) said there might be something he can come up with, that there might be a couple of things in the works.”

Killen said that while he waits to decide on whether to continue playing or to work toward his MBA, he is preparing as if his future contains more basketball.

Killen rose from a little-used freshman to an all-conference honoree as a senior (photo by Travis Johnston).

“I’m acting right now as if I don’t have the option to go grad school,” he said. “I work out every day and play pick-up when I can.”

“Almost every kid grows up playing basketball dreams of playing basketball for a career,” Killen said. “By the time I got to college … I didn’t play a lot my first two years, so I started to think that playing might not be an option.”

But the Martin High School graduate from Arlington, Texas, re-shaped his game in his junior and senior seasons. Killen led the Mustangs in points and assists as a senior, won the Meyer Brothers’ Award for combined academic success, athletic achievement and community involvement, was the men’s basketball representative on SMU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was named to the Conference USA All-Academic team (he graduated with a degree in business management and sociology).

“Ever since I’ve been here, I have tried to be the best college player I can,” he said. “After my junior year, playing overseas crossed my mind again.”

Killen said that never would have been possible without head coach Matt Doherty and his staff, who helped him improve so much in his final two seasons at SMU.

“The biggest thing for me was that when they came in, they tore down everything that had been there before, in terms of reputation and expectations,” he said. “That gave all of us an opportunity to re-introduce ourselves to the new coaches. It’s a lot of work, but they’re very good about instilling confidence.”

Killen said he has nearly a month to decide if he is going to accept if he is going to accept Cuxhaven’s offer. “The contract they sent me says they want me to start in training camp, in mid-August.

The idea of living overseas is not daunting to Killen, who recently left the United States for the first time when he accompanied the Ponies to Africa.

Killen was the Ponies' captain as a senior and won SMU's prestigious "M" Award (photo by Travis Johnston).

“I’ve never been to Europe, and I don’t speak any German,” he said when asked about the potential language challenges he would face. I think the closest I’ve come is a few words of Lithuanian that Donatas (Rackauskas) and Paulius (Ritter) taught me, and I’m pretty sure they’re profane. But I wouldn’t be the only American over there, so while I’d try to learn German over there — that’s one of the benefits of playing internationally — I’m pretty sure there would be some people who could help me while I get used to being there.”

The offer from Cuxhaven is not a lucrative deal, but still, the chance to continue playing has its appeal to Killen.

“One of the reasons I’m thinking about going, is that I felt like I got a lot better in my last couple of seasons,” he said. “Now I have a chance to go over and keep playing, and makes you wonder: Have I hit my ceiling? Or can I continue to get better?”