ESPN Men's Basketball

MILWAUKEE -- A 29-year-old European league basketball player was in critical condition Thursday with a gunshot wound to the head after he was attacked leaving a gas station in his hometown of Milwaukee, officials said.

Lavelle Felton played for Paderborn last season in Germany's top league, Bundesliga, the team said. A guard, he played in 34 games, averaging 10.4 points and 2.4 assists per game as he helped the club reach the Bundesliga playoffs.

Milwaukee police would not confirm the victim's identity but said a 29-year-old was shot in the head driving away from a gas station around 2 a.m. Wednesday. Police say a passenger reported that his cousin had been shot.

No arrests were reported by police. Kim Wick, spokeswoman with Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital near Milwaukee, said Felton was in critical condition.

Former Wisconsin-Milwaukee basketball standout Avery Smith described Felton as a good friend and someone he's known since they were young. He said he spoke to Felton hours before he was shot, but didn't know the events leading up to the shooting.

He said Felton loved his girlfriend, with whom he has two children, and was a role model for youngsters.

"I grew up under him," he said. "He was a role model for me too."

Felton played basketball at Madison High School here, then played at Louisiana Tech, averaging 13.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 2002-03. He then spent two years with the Turkish club Buyuk Kolej before moving on to Greece and France.

Felton's Los Angeles-based agent, Mark Mayemura, said Thursday he spoke to him earlier in the week because he was negotiating with teams for next season. He had offers on the table and Felton was supposed to give Mayemura an answer on Wednesday, but Mayemura didn't hear from him.

He said he was shocked and saddened.

"Yesterday I was worried about him getting a job and now I'm just worried about him making it," he said.

There were numerous well wishes on Felton's Facebook page. One was from his friend from high school, James Scott, 28, who now lives in Atlanta. He said in a phone interview that he was distraught when he heard about the shooting.

"He was a humble person," he said. "He never got into trouble."

Scott said Felton has always wanted to play basketball professionally and worked hard to do it.

"He played ball 24-7," he said. "He dribbled the ball everywhere he went ... that's all he thought about was basketball."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press