Where are ex-Johnnies now? A look at the some of the St. John's vets playing professionally

From the first league in Turkey, all the way to the Bundesliga in Germany, former St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players are still active in the game.

In recent years, graduates Dwight Hardy, Paris Horne, D.J. Kennedy, Justin Brownlee, Justin Burrell, Anthony Mason Jr. and Sean Evans having been getting their feet wet in the professional world.

And those that came before them, including Lamont Hamilton, Omar Cook, Marcus Hatten, and Eugene Lawrence, are veterans in the European game.

Lamont Hamilton (2007, F)

Hamilton, the 6'8 forward who went undrafted after 4 years with the Red Storm has played with 5 different clubs, 4 of whom have been from the Spanish League.

He spent the end of 2013-14 season with Laboral Kutxa in Spain averaging 8 points and 4 rebounds in 24 games. Kutxa made it to the Quarter-Finals of the league before being knocked out in a best-of-3 series, and will return to Kutxa next season.

Omar Cook (2001, PG)

Omar Cook was a one-and-done guard at St. John's, playing for the 2000-01 season before deciding to enter the draft - a decision remembered as an example of a terrible choice by a promising player. Selected in the second round, 31st overall by the Orlando Magic, his NBA career never took off.

So Cook headed overseas where he's spent the last 13 years playing for 9 different clubs, playing for the national basketball team of Montenegro as well - carving out a successful career.

He spent the 2013-14 season with Lietuvos Ryas Vilnius in Lithuania where he averaged 7 points and 6 assists off the bench for the team.

Marcus Hatten (2003, G)

Marcus Hatten, the star of the 2002 and 2003 St. John's teams - including the NIT winning squad his senior year - has had a journey-filled career since leaving the University in 2003.

Going undrafted, Hatten headed to Poland for his first stop, played in Greece, Belgium, Italy, Venezuela, and Israel. and landed himself in Germany as part of Mitteldeutscher BC.

This past year, as the starting point guard for the club, Hatten averaged 14 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds as the club finished in 9th place in the standings, just missing the playoffs.

Eugene Lawrence (2008, G)

Eugene Lawrence is also playing his ball in Germany as part of Telekom Baskets Bonn in the same division as Hatten.

Lawrence, who left St. John's after four years with the University, averaged 10 points, 6 assist and 3 rebounds for the German club.

Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace (1999, G/F)

And if we are going to head into the past, there has to be mention of the man who was known by St. John's fans as Ron Artest, now known as Metta World Peace.

After being drafted by the Chicago Bulls, fighting fans in the stands while an Indiana Pacer, World Peace spent time out West with the Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers before the Queens-native came back home to New York where he spent a lackluster season with the Knicks.

World Peace signed a two-year deal with the Knicks but was bought out 7 months after signing as the team prepared to rebuild.

World Peace was Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, while also being a 2-time NBA All-Defensive 1st team selection. He also captured an NBA title with the Lakers in 2010 to cap off a great, and controversial career.

Part two of visiting the past will feature Johnnies from the more recent times who are still getting their feet wet in the professional game.