Injuries derailed the once promising career of 5-10 guard Matt Causey, who averaged 20 points and 10.5 assists per game as a junior at a suburban Atlanta high school.

Causey, a biology major, chose Georgetown over Stanford and Florida State in the fall of 2002, setting off a temblor in the news media not for his talent but for his skin color. Assistant coach Ronny Thompson had signed Georgetown's first white point guard since Kurt Kaull in 1979, and some in the media didn't know how to respond.

"Georgetown basketball hasn't exactly been awash in racial diversity since the beginning of the John Thompson era in 1972," wrote the Washington Times. "Nobody ever confused [the] Hoyas with Utah or Princeton." The Washington City Paper was less diplomatic. "Over the last few decades, folks with pale skin have gotten to play ball at Georgetown about as often as women have gotten to shower at Augusta."

For his part, Causey was unapologetic. "They're a great basketball school with a lot of tradition, and I was flattered when they started recruiting me as a sophomore. I also knew it was a very strong university, and that was really important to me because I could have gone to college on an academic scholarship. It didn't hurt that my mom just loves Coach [Ronny] Thompson."

"I'm nobody's token," he said. "I'm not going up there to ride the bench. And as for Georgetown never having an all-conference white player, well, there's a first for everything."

Three knee surgeries had slowed Causey's production as a senior, leaving him without any cartilage for his college years. At Georgetown, it was a wrist injury which consigned him to the bench as a freshman. He shot just 33 percent from the field and managed just four three pointers the entire season. His best effort was in the season finale versus Boston College, with 12 points.

Despite expectations he would challenge for a starting role as a sophomore, Causey announced a transfer prior to the transition to John Thompson III as coach, citing a need to pursue studies closer to home. "I liked Coach Thompson, and he wanted me to stay," Causey said, "He didn't understand why I was leaving."

Causey further surprised potential schools by choosing a non-Division I program. He transferred to North Georgia College & State University, a NAIA school in Dahlonega, GA located one hour from his home town. Causey dominated at this level, averaging 23.5 points and 6.7 assists in two seasons, wnd was named an NAIA All-American. In 2006 he transferred a second time, sitting out a season before playing the 2007-08 season as a walk-on at Georgia Tech, averaging 7.2 points per game and starting nine of 30 games.

Matt was one of three Causey brothers that all played Division I basketball; ironically, all three transferred out of major programs after a single season. His older brother Mark played at Duke and also transferred to North Georgia, while younger brother Mike transferred from TCU to walk on at Harvard.

Matt Causey completed his studies at Georgia Tech in 2008 and later earned an MBA from the school as well.