Darryl Middleton turns 41 years old this summer. But the New York native is far from slowing down.

He just enjoys winning too much.

And this weekend he hopes to play a role in leading Akasvayu Girona to the EuroCup crown in front of the home fans.

		Last season Middleton helped Dynamo St. Petersburg advance to the Final Four.

Girona coach Svetislav Pesic knows he has the veteran and his experience to call upon if things get tight against Estudiantes on Friday and in the championship game on Sunday if Akasvayu get there.

Middleton has been around a long time.

He was still in college when Danny Manning led Kansas to the 1988  NCAA title against Oklahoma and the great Mookie Blaylock. While at Baylor, Middleton played against Blaylock in Southwest Conference play.

Middleton was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the third and final round in 1988 - a year early the NBA Draft was still seven rounds.

Other players from the draft - headed by Manning - include: Rik Smits, Chris Morris, Mitch Richmond, Hersey Hawkins, Will Perdue, Harvey Grant, Dan Majerle, Rod Strickland, Vernon Maxwell, Steve Kerr and Anthony Mason.

Needless to say, there are very few from that draft still active.

After a long NBA career, Chris Morris was playing last season in Jordan.

Rod Strickland was in pre-season camp with Zalgiris Kaunas last season.

Among others from the class of 88, David Rivers played until 2004 in second division France and Sylvester Gray in third division Italy until 2005. Jose Vargas played last season in Brazil, Hernan Montenegro last season in Argentina and Jeff Moore in Mexico. And Ricky Grace was still active two seasons ago in Australia.

Two players from the 1988 Draft I found to have played this season were Gerald Paddio in Argentina and Tim Perry in the Eastern Basketball Alliance (EBA).

But Middleton is still going strong in the strongest league outside of the NBA while also still contributing for a Final Four team in a leading European competition. No one else can say that.

The big man is averaging 6.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 16 minutes of action in the Euro Cup this season, while also hitting 69% of his shots.

In Spain, he's contributing 2.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10 minutes of play.

And he's a proven winner.

He helped the United States to the gold medal at the 1988 FIBA World Championships. He won the 2002 Euroleague crown with Panathinaikos while also collecting four Greek League titles from 2001-2005 and two Greek Cup crowns. He also won an ACB championship with Barcelona in 1995.

Middleton helped Panathaikos to the 2005 Euroleague Final Four and is making his second straight EuroCup Final Four showing after last season with Dynamo St. Petersburg.

Middleton may be getting up there in years. But he's not going out quietly.