Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje

Ruben Bertrand Boumtje Boumtje (born May 20, 1978) is a retired Cameroonian professional basketball player. At 7'0" and 260 lbs, he played at center. He is a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and enjoyed a brief stint in the NBA. Boumtje-Boumtje retired in November 2011 at age 33 because of a heart condition.^[1]

High school and college

Boumtje-Boumtje attended Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. for one year.^[2] He played college basketball at Georgetown University and holds career averages of 9.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He ranks fourth on the Hoyas' all-time blocked shots list with 255, behind Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo.^[3]

NBA

Boumtje-Boumtje was selected in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 50th overall pick^[4] and participated in 44 games over three seasons from 2001 until January 21, 2004, when he was traded along with guard Jeff McInnis to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for small forward Darius Miles.

He was waived soon afterwards, having never played a game for them. In July 2005, Boumtje-Boumtje was drafted in the 2005 AAPBL Draft but the league folded before a game was even played. On August 22, 2005, it was announced the Orlando Magic had signed him to a contract of undisclosed terms.^[5] He had played five games with them during the 2005 Reebok Vegas Summer League while averaging 4.8 points, shooting 56.3 percent of his field goals (9-of-16), and 3.6 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game.

European leagues

Boumtje-Boumtje played the 2006-07 season for Alba Berlin^[6] in the ULEB Cup and the German Basketball Bundesliga. After the season, his contract was not renewed, but he joined league rival EWE Baskets Oldenburg in November as a replacement for injured Dan McClintock and later signed for the remainder of the 2007-2008 season. Oldenburg renewed his contract for the 2008-2009 season. The team became the German league champions in June 2009.

In 2010 Boumtje-Boumtje joined the Artland Dragons in Germany. In 2011, he signed with Bayern Munich, but he immediately retired after just 4 games, because of an irregularity with his heart.^[7][8]

Off-the-court

Boumtje-Boumtje speaks three languages - a native Cameroonian language, French and English.^[9] At Georgetown he was a pre-med, as well as a mathematics and biology double major.^[10] He was named Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2001, an honor often reserved for athletes in non-televised sports, and used the occasion to restate his intention to attend medical school if he were not drafted by the NBA.^[11] In 2014, Ruben earned a master's degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Georgetown University. He recently interned at Elder Research.^[12]

References

External links

• Boumtje-Boumtje at NBA.com
• Player Profile at HoopsHype.com
• Basketpedya.com Player Profile