As their four years of participation in the Saint Louis
University basketball program comes to a close, the Billikens will
be bidding farewell to four seniors at the end of this semester.
Each of the graduating Bills is pursuing unique paths, but all will
likely stay connected to basketball in some way.

Point guard Josh Fisher will be the only Billiken in pursuit of
a professional playing career. Fisher plans on trying out for
European clubs.

“I won’t know much until the end of the season,” Fisher said.
“It’s kind of open right now.”

Playing in Europe would work out well for Fisher, whose
fianc�e is from Spain.

“We plan on getting married the summer after this one, in
Spain,” Fisher said. “We want to get situated first.” Though he
likes the idea of having children, there are no immediate plans for
any young Fishers now. “Nothing anytime soon,” Fisher said.

When he finishes his course load this semester, Fisher will have
earned a double major of criminal justice and sociology. Fisher has
explored the possibility of working in a law-enforcement field,
either local or with the FBI.

“I did a homicide internship and I thought that was cool,”
Fisher said. Any career plans outside of professional basketball
would likely take Fisher back to his home area of Mercer Island,
Wash.

Chris Sloan also intends to stay active in basketball, but he
has aspirations to coach rather than play.

“I would like to coach Division I college basketball,” Sloan
said. “I would start as a graduate assistant and do the gopher
work, then work my way up to being an assistant and finally a head
coach. I would like to stay in the Midwest, especially at a Big 10
or Big XII school. Eventually, it would be nice to come back to my
alma mater to coach.”

More immediately, Sloan is planning a week-long trip to Maui. “I
just want to get far away from basketball,” he said.

If he doesn’t find himself on a bench, Sloan, a marketing major,
may still be active in sports on a national scale.

“I had an internship in sports marketing with Anheuser-Busch. I
would be working with sponsored events, like the Super Bowl or
All-Star games,” Sloan said. “Anheuser-Busch would also sponsor
some smaller events.”

In addition to Sloan, Phil Hunt desires to stay involved in
sports in the St. Louis area. After earning his communication
degree, Hunt plans to work as a sports producer.

“I have some connections with Fox Sports and was a Cardinals
intern,” Hunt said. “It was a little gig. I would like to stay in
St. Louis and I see myself here in St. Louis, Hunt said. “I
wouldn’t mind traveling though.”

Unlike Sloan and Fisher, however, Hunt doesn’t plan on staying
exclusive with basketball.

“I’m a huge sports fan, and wouldn’t pass anything up because it
wasn’t basketball,” Hunt continued. “But I would love to stay in
basketball.”

“I’ll probably still play a lot, and stay involved at SLU; most
likely coming back to check up at practices,” Hunt said.

“I just want a good-paying job and a family,” Hunt said. “And to
be happy and healthy. What everyone wants, really.”

Ross Varner will most likely distance himself the farthest from
basketball, whose involvement will likely be minimal. Varner would
like to involve himself in his family members’ lives again, after
leaving to play basketball, though.

Varner is married and he and his wife plan on moving back to
Utah.

“My wife is in cosmetology school and will finish up at about
the same time I graduate. I have good connections to my dad’s
business. After one or two years, I’ll head back to school to get
my MBA, but I want some business experience. I’m not really sure
what type yet; we’ll see what happens,” Varner said.

“We’ll live in my parents’ basement,” Varner said. “It is wired
to be an apartment and they have blocked it off a little, putting
some doors up. The house will be mostly empty now, and this way I
can be close to family and save some money.”

Varner has not decided on the future of his and his wife’s
family, but he doesn’t rule out having several children. “I’m from
a big family, and my wife is from a family of eight children. We’ll
see though; maybe I will have a big family,” Varner said. “For now
though, I’m just going to enjoy the time out here with my
wife.”