FENNIS Dembo went from driving to the bucket to driving buses after swapping the court for the road.

The 57-year-old from Mobile, Alabama was an NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons in 1989.

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He then went on to become a bus driver in San AntonioCredit: Spectrum News
He also represented the United States national team during his short-lived NBA career.

The small forward was a star in the college game with Wyoming, and helped his team to the last 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 1987.

He was the all-time leader and rebounder in program history and ended up having his No 34 jersey retired.

Dembo stopped playing basketball in 1995 and took up an altogether different occupation.

His NBA career was only two seasons from 1988 to 1989 before he was cut by the Pistons.

He began work as a bus driver around San Antonio in Texas in 2016.

Dembo went to high school in the city at Fox Tech and moved back into the house he grew up in .

Speaking to Spectrum Local News, he said: “The most important thing is getting to that destination and getting your people there.

“I look at the people who ride these buses as my teammates.

“You have to find a way to get along with them, because everybody has a different attitude.”

The former pro basketball star admitted he blew his chance at having a prolonged career in the NBA.

He conceded: “It was overwhelming for me. I didn’t take care of the things that I needed to.

“Mentally and physically, basketball-wise, I didn’t know how to be a professional basketball player. I really didn’t.

“And anybody that tried to show me. I wasn’t listening.”

Dembo added: “If you asked that kid at Fox Tech: ‘Hey, are you driving the bus?’ He would have said: ‘No, I never would do that.’

“But I actually live my life, again, going through these bus routes.”

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Fennis Dembo was a star in college but played in the NBA just two yearsCredit: Getty