After playing basketball for a year in Germany, a former TCU star has returned to Fort Worth and is doing what he loves.Corey Santee, 23 and native of Flint, Mich., is playing basketball for the Fort Worth Flyers.

Santee had been playing professional basketball in Germany for the Nuremburg Baskets from 2005 to 2006. Following his one year stint, Santee felt Germany was not the place for him.

Santee was a member of the TCU basketball team from 2001 to 2005. He did not get drafted in the 2005 NBA draft. After the draft, Santee went to Germany in hopes of getting noticed by NBA scouts. In Germany, Santee said he enjoyed his stay but the league was not what he was looking for.

“Germany was a great experience for me, it was a beautiful place,” Santee said. “But the style of play there is much slower.”

After Germany, the NBA Developmental League was better fit for Santee.

“The Developmental League is a league for players who have potential to make the NBA, but are not quite ready for that level of play,” Flyers head coach Sandy Moncrief said.

“This is the best spot for potential NBA players to come and play,” Moncrief said. “You are only one-step away from the NBA.”

Santee is in his first season with the Flyers. He was put on the roster at the start of the season in November.

“The play in the league is very competitive,” Santee said. “The younger guys are talented and the veterans are smart basketball players.”

While the D-League is not professional, it is a strong league with good or above average players, Santee said.

“In general, the players in the league are those who were stars in college and played at bigger universities,” he said. “Coming from a smaller university, I finally got my chance to compete with some of these guys and show that I am just as good as them.”

Santee remains optimistic about his chances of making it to the NBA. His coach thinks he is on the right track for making a professional career on the court.

“Corey is an offensive machine,” Moncrief said. “He has 3-point range and can break a game wide open with his play.”

Santee does have some things to work on though, Moncrief said.

“He scores enough to play at the NBA level, but he must be get better defending and guarding players that are bigger than him.”

One of his teammates, center Luke Schenscher, who played at Georgia Tech, said Santee is a good player and a good teammate.

“He is an awesome shooter,” Schenscher said. “When I get the ball on the low post, I look for Corey because I know he will make the shot.”

Santee has not forgotten he was a Horned Frog and is proud to make sure his Flyers teammates know during practice, Schenscher said.

“Every now and then I stop by and watch them practice,” Santee said. “They are my family and we (TCU) both push each other and hope that we all succeed.”

TCU head coach Neil Dougherty, talked about the strong player and person that Corey was.

“Corey is a natural basketball player,” Dougherty said. “He became a better leader each year and also accepted more accountability as he became a key player on our team.”

Santee was the team Most Valuable Player and All-Conference during his junior and senior campaigns. As a senior in 2005, he led the Horned Frogs to the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament. Santee finished as TCU’s all-time leader in assists and second in total points.

“A lot of teams in the NBA are need of guards,” Dougherty said. “As long as Corey stays ready, healthy and tough, the NBA is a possibility.”

The Fort Worth Flyers are currently 18-8 overall and are in first place in the Eastern Division. Their next home game is 7 p.m. February 20th at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Santee is averaging 13 points and 24 minutes a game.