David Britton (basketball)

David Britton (b August 26, 1958 in New York, New York) was a college basketball player for Texas A&M University who was named an NCAA Tournament MVP.

Early years

David Britton was born in New York City on August 29, 1958. He attended Kennedy High School in The Bronx.

Texas A&M University

At Texas A&M, Britton was a first-team all Southwest Conference player in his senior season in 1979-1980. Playing alongside "The Wall" of center Rudy Woods, and forwards Vernon Smith (basketball) and Rynn Wright, as well as point guard Dave Goff, Britton's senior team set the school record of 26 victories. They earned a place in the 1980 NCAA Tournament, beating Bradley and ekeing out a double-overtime victory against North Carolina before losing in overtime to eventual national champion Louisville. Britton was named to the All-Midwest Regional Team for his performance in the tournament.

Later Years

The Dallas Mavericks chose Britton as the 11th pick in the third round of the 1980 NBA Draft, but he did not play with the team, joining the Washington Bullets instead. In four games with the Bullets, in which he saw a total of nine minutes playing time, Britton connected on two of this three field goal attempts, scoring a total of four points. He also recorded 3 assists and a steal.

Britton lives in both Arlington, Texas and New York, and has long worked as a substitute teacher in the Dallas Independent School District, for several years also serving as a volunteer basketball coach for his longtime friend Rod Wright's Carter High School team in Dallas. This work ended in 2006, when Britton found himself in the midst of a scandal. At a tournament in San Antonio in December 2004, Britton had approached Melissa Corbett, the mother of a standout high school basketball player from Tennessee, identified himself as working with Wright, and invited her to enroll her son at Carter High School if the family chose to move to Texas. The following year, Corbett's seventeen-year-old son decided to move to Texas by himself, and Britton offered to assist the young man in his transition. According to Corbett, Britton then insisted that she loan the school program money, and threatened to keep the boy from playing if she did not. Britton claims that the $5000 she paid him was a gift for helping Aaron Corbett with his move.

References