Justin Drummond owned two credible resumes from his time at the University of Toledo.

He could use only one following his graduation.

The former UT basketball player always believed he would play professionally in Europe after college. He became an established starter and helped UT win 47 games in two years after transferring from Loyola (Md.).

He also started his own business while in college, a private security management firm that has an active community outreach wing.

Drummond hired an agent and had interest from professional teams in Turkey, Israel, and France — but signing a contract and moving across the Atlantic Ocean likely meant giving up his business.

He just couldnt do that.

So this fall, for the first time, Drummond will trade in his warm-ups for a suit and enter the business world.

“Its a little different, but I found a new love for business as I was going through college,” Drummond said. “Basketball is something I love; I still play all the time. But business is something I believe will take me a lot farther and help me impact a lot more lives as well.”

Now back home in Maryland, Drummond also will begin a master’s program in cybersecurity at the University of Maryland.

Drummond began his business, SparkC Llc. (pronounced “Spark”), during his junior season at UT. The business went live two days before Christmas, 2013.

He operated the small business in the slim windows of free time he found between school and basketball.

Drummond often gave presentations to school-age kids on Toledos off days, and crammed full security management assessments in between his class work.

Drummond used most of his spare time during the past 18 months to keep his business afloat. He said he couldnt throw that effort away, even for basketball.

“The time I invested, I really value that,” Drummond said. “If I went overseas, that would kinda be like starting all over again, and thats not really the route I want to go.

“I wanted to invest my time, my energy, and really, my life into SparkC. I believe itll pay off triple fold if I stay true to it.”

Instead of constant emailing and responding to voice mail, Drummonds meetings with his Washington, DC-area clients will now be face-to-face, which he thinks will make a big difference.

After he earns his degree from Maryland, Drummond hopes to bring a new cybersecurity wing into the company.

He plans to build the new endeavor while in college, then have it fully operational upon graduation.

And long-term, he would like to return to northwestern Ohio.

“My dream is being able to come back to Toledo once SparkC Innovation has grown,” Drummond said. “I built my business there. I really started this whole dream of building a company there, so I would love to come back and be able to show the students that it is possible to do things that are kind of out of the ordinary.”

Drummond admitted this year will feel different without the non-stop preparation for basketball, though he said hes shifting the same work ethic to business. As opposed to being a basketball player with a business, hes comfortable shifting his title to a businessman who can ball.

Business will be his new focus — but he promises he can be ready for the court at any time.

“If anybody has something to say,” Drummond said, “my shoes are in the car.”

Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at: npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 724-6110, or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz

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