Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Where Are They Now? - Craig Buchanan
2/3/2020 9:02:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BOCA RATON, Fla. – What Craig Buchanan saw in himself, he found at Florida Atlantic University: an underdog. One, a prospective college athlete from a town – Mahomet, Illinois – producing few; the other, a basketball program transitioning into NCAA Division I.
They were a perfect match.
"I knew it was going to be rough, but at the same time I knew it was going to be better," Buchanan said of his 1994 freshman season, FAU's first at the Division I level. "and I wanted to build myself along with the university and the program."
Buchanan built himself into a prolific scorer and FAU into a legitimate TAAC contender. After winning only three games in '94, the Owls surged to a 16-11 record in 1997 behind Buchanan's team-leading 16.8 scoring average.
That season was an encapsulation of the buoying presence Buchanan gave FAU. He left as the program's all-time leader in field goals made (582) and was the first player to surpass 1,000 career points.
FAU inducted Buchanan into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007 – fittingly, he was the first men's basketball player in.
"When I think about the Hall of Fame stuff, I think about where I came from," said Buchanan, who's also in Mahomet-Seymour High School and Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Halls of Fame. "That's really what I think about. And I know people have said that before, but it really is true. I think about all the nights, and all the weekends, and the mornings and the days that I would work out in my garage and work out in my driveway and practice and shoot. You think about all those things that nobody thinks about."
Buchanan graduated from FAU in 1997 with the intention of going pro. But after breaking his foot – for the third time in his career – during a 1999 summer tryout with the USBL, a now-defunct spring league, he changed course.
In need of a more stable income, Buchanan envisioned the next stage of his professional life – one he'd work toward without help.
"At that point, mom and dad weren't in the picture, so I was basically alone," Buchanan said. "And it was, 'OK, I've got to provide for myself – how do I do this?' And again, it was one of those things where it molded me because I didn't have that first line of defense – everyone's got mom, everybody's got dad to fall back on. Well, I didn't have that, so I was just forced to grow up. But again, it molded me into who I am."
Buchanan returned to Mahomet in '99, earning his real estate license there. He enjoyed the familiarity and comfort of being home, where "you just kind of know everybody, [and] everybody knows you."
Later that year, Buchanan got a job with the town's RE/MAX Realty Associates branch – and has worked there ever since.
"I had that vision of just being able to see what I wanted, and why I wanted it – and your 'why' always changes along the way – but initially that was it," Buchanan said. "It was, I didn't want a nine-to-five; I wanted somewhere where I could continue to grow and there wasn't a limit with how good you could be. It was somewhat relatable to basketball in how I thought about it because you could be as good as you want to be in basketball – it just took more work."
Buchanan's work ethic gave him an opportunity to play – then dominate – college basketball. It's now paying dividends in his real estate career.
"With my profession now, I really don't get outworked [by] my peers," Buchanan said. "I work every single day. I've got the same routine every day. I've got a vision – and that's the key thing: You've got to have a vision of where you see yourself, how do you see yourself getting there. And that's something that college molded into me, but it really took off after college into the profession I'm in now."
In the past, Buchanan's visions were individual – athletic scholarships, scoring records, jobs – but not anymore.
A husband and father of two daughters, Buchanan now dreams through his kids' eyes. Buchanan says watching them compete – 15-year-old Avery in volleyball and 12-year-old Hunter in dance – in the town he earned Hall of Fame status in is "the funnest stage of my life."
"I've done what I want to do," Buchanan explained. "Now, I'm looking at what they want to do, what do they want to become how can I help them become that. So to me, that's what the next stage of life looks like – it's about them, and that's really it. That's my vision: my vision is for them, and how do we get them where they want to be in life."
They were a perfect match.
"I knew it was going to be rough, but at the same time I knew it was going to be better," Buchanan said of his 1994 freshman season, FAU's first at the Division I level. "and I wanted to build myself along with the university and the program."
Buchanan built himself into a prolific scorer and FAU into a legitimate TAAC contender. After winning only three games in '94, the Owls surged to a 16-11 record in 1997 behind Buchanan's team-leading 16.8 scoring average.
That season was an encapsulation of the buoying presence Buchanan gave FAU. He left as the program's all-time leader in field goals made (582) and was the first player to surpass 1,000 career points.
FAU inducted Buchanan into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007 – fittingly, he was the first men's basketball player in.
"When I think about the Hall of Fame stuff, I think about where I came from," said Buchanan, who's also in Mahomet-Seymour High School and Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Halls of Fame. "That's really what I think about. And I know people have said that before, but it really is true. I think about all the nights, and all the weekends, and the mornings and the days that I would work out in my garage and work out in my driveway and practice and shoot. You think about all those things that nobody thinks about."
Buchanan graduated from FAU in 1997 with the intention of going pro. But after breaking his foot – for the third time in his career – during a 1999 summer tryout with the USBL, a now-defunct spring league, he changed course.
In need of a more stable income, Buchanan envisioned the next stage of his professional life – one he'd work toward without help.
"At that point, mom and dad weren't in the picture, so I was basically alone," Buchanan said. "And it was, 'OK, I've got to provide for myself – how do I do this?' And again, it was one of those things where it molded me because I didn't have that first line of defense – everyone's got mom, everybody's got dad to fall back on. Well, I didn't have that, so I was just forced to grow up. But again, it molded me into who I am."
Buchanan returned to Mahomet in '99, earning his real estate license there. He enjoyed the familiarity and comfort of being home, where "you just kind of know everybody, [and] everybody knows you."
Later that year, Buchanan got a job with the town's RE/MAX Realty Associates branch – and has worked there ever since.
"I had that vision of just being able to see what I wanted, and why I wanted it – and your 'why' always changes along the way – but initially that was it," Buchanan said. "It was, I didn't want a nine-to-five; I wanted somewhere where I could continue to grow and there wasn't a limit with how good you could be. It was somewhat relatable to basketball in how I thought about it because you could be as good as you want to be in basketball – it just took more work."
Buchanan's work ethic gave him an opportunity to play – then dominate – college basketball. It's now paying dividends in his real estate career.
"With my profession now, I really don't get outworked [by] my peers," Buchanan said. "I work every single day. I've got the same routine every day. I've got a vision – and that's the key thing: You've got to have a vision of where you see yourself, how do you see yourself getting there. And that's something that college molded into me, but it really took off after college into the profession I'm in now."
In the past, Buchanan's visions were individual – athletic scholarships, scoring records, jobs – but not anymore.
A husband and father of two daughters, Buchanan now dreams through his kids' eyes. Buchanan says watching them compete – 15-year-old Avery in volleyball and 12-year-old Hunter in dance – in the town he earned Hall of Fame status in is "the funnest stage of my life."
"I've done what I want to do," Buchanan explained. "Now, I'm looking at what they want to do, what do they want to become how can I help them become that. So to me, that's what the next stage of life looks like – it's about them, and that's really it. That's my vision: my vision is for them, and how do we get them where they want to be in life."
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