Former Greyhound Now Division I Starter

Former Greyhound T.J. Handley realized a dream by signing a Division I scholarship with the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and that dream keeps getting better now that he has worked his way into the starting lineup.

It's also paying dividends for the UAPB Lions as they handed league-leading Texas Southern University its first conference loss of the season as Handley scored 12 points and pulled down 9 rebounds in the contest. And then two days later he scored 15 points in a blowout win over Prairie View A&M.

He has had to be patient as UAPB played nearly all of its preconference games on the road at heavyweight programs like Michigan State, Stanford and Texas Tech. But it wasn't until an overtime upset win at the University of Houston where Handley totaled 6 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals in 29 minutes that the Lions began to see what kind of player he could be.

There were ups and downs, from playing only 3 minutes in a loss to Abilene Christian University in Las Vegas, to his first start at Stanford, but he has now started the last eight games in a row and helped the Lions to three consecutive conference victories.

And after dropping their first three conference games by a combined 10 points, UAPB should know it can compete with the SWAC's best. And with a former Greyhound now in the mix, the dream of an NCAA Tournament appearance may now be within reach.

Keep up with UAPB and former Greyhound T.J. Handley on ESPN.com's team page by clicking here.