It has been almost three year since Larriques Cunningham drew the attention of thousands of YouTube viewers with his God-given leaping ability in a national slam-dunk competition.

Today the slender 6-foot-4 athlete continues to perform his high-rise act, but he's doing it to earn a living and also getting to live in several different cities around the world.

After using up his college eligility, Cunningham earned a professional D-League tryout and was signed with Tulsa (Okla.) 66ers, and then the North Dakota Wizards.

When those two opportunities didn't produce the results he wanted, the talented former Lee Flame hooked up with a new agent and found himself playing in Mexico for a pair of four-month stints. Not only did he thrill the Mexico fans with his dunks, he averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks.

This past year it was off to Japan and playing against tougher competition. Cumming ham, who was a two-year member of Tommy Brown's Lee programs, played in the BJ League and for Myiiyazaki, which he says is translated into English as Shining Sun.

During breaks in travel, Larriques married his Lee girlfriend (Porshia Gilliam) last year and she continues to work toward a doctor's degree in marriage and family counseling.

Currently he's back in Cleveland and will graduate from Lee in December with a degree in Human Development/Business. He turned down seven pro deals to remain in town to complete his education.

Making around $3,000 per month while playing in Mexico and Japan, Cunningham hoped to land a bigger contract and his agent is currently talking with teams in Europe and Saudi Arabia. "I really liked it in Mexico," he said. "The people there were like family and I still keep in touch with them."

How long will his basketball career last? "I feel like I can play eight years or more," he noted. "I've already met a lot of guys who have played in the NBA and they tell me to go where the money is and get to know the right people."

Cunningham says playing against the tougher competition has forced him to improve his outside shooting. "They don't call fouls in Japan and you get hammered when you go inside. The dunks didn't come easy over there, but I learned from the experience."

Several other Flames are still in the pro game, including Jerel Blocker, Teddrick Hardy, Antonio Haymon and Desmond Blue.