NEW YORK -- To hear Duncan Budinger tell it, he's the third-best volleyball player in his family. His sister Brittanie holds numerous records at the University of San Francisco and played two years professionally in Europe. And his brother Chase was one of the best school-boy volleyball players to ever come out of the San Diego area. He spent time with both the 16- and 18-and-under United States indoor volleyball national teams.
But Chase Budinger doesn't play volleyball anymore aside from messing around with his friends on the beach when he's home from school. He's a star basketball player for the University of Arizona and almost left this past year, his sophomore season, for the NBA Draft.
"He was super stressed out about it," Duncan said of Chase's decision.
Chase has said in interviews that he considers himself both a basketball player and a volleyball player. There's no doubt what Duncan is. He excelled at Long Beach State and played indoor last year in Germany. This year, he plans on heading to Holland to play.
But perhaps his future lies on the beach. The 6-foot-8 Budinger and teammate Clint Coe won their first-ever main draw match Friday at the AVP Brooklyn Open in Coney Island and tacked on a second win, as well. The duo, seeded No. 32 out of 32 teams, lost to top-seed Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers to open the tournament then knocked off No. 16 Jeff Carlucci/Albert Hannemann and No. 18 Canyon Ceman/Casey Patterson.
Budinger and Coe fell to No. 7 John Mayer/Jeff Nygaard, 16-21, 21-15, 12-15 but earned a 13th-place finish. Not bad considering the pair only qualified for two other AVP tournaments this season.
"Right now, I consider myself an indoor person," Budinger said. "I consider the beach a hobby. But if I keep winning, who knows what the future holds?"
In Chase Budinger's future, there's plenty of cash -- he's almost a lock to be a first-round pick in next year's NBA Draft, guaranteed to make millions. But Duncan wouldn't mind seeing his brother, known for his uncanny leaping ability, out on the sand more often.
"He's the more athletic one," Duncan said. "He would be amazing out here."
Business as usual: Todd Rogers said earlier Friday that these last few AVP Tour stops are "good training" for the Summer Olympics, to be played in Beijing, China in August. And he and Phil Dalhausser are treating the Brooklyn Open as just that -- training.
The top-seeded pair -- and best team in the nation -- cruised into the winner's bracket semifinals Friday with three fairly easy wins. On the other side of the net from Dalhausser and Rogers on Saturday morning will be No. 4 Matt Olson and Kevin Wong. No. 2 Nick Lucea/Sean Scott will play No. 6 Stein Metzger/Mark Williams, who beat No. 3 John Hyden-Brad Keenan in the winner's bracket quarters.

The men's final will be aired live Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on NBC.

On the women's side, there weren't too many surprises, either. No. 1 Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh, No. 2 Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan, No. 3 Nicole Branagh-Elaine Youngs and No. 4 Jennifer Boss-April Ross all advanced. In a mini-upset, No. 12 Michelle More/Suzanne Stonebarger beat No. 5 Carrie Dodd/Tatiana Minello to advance into the winner's bracket quarterfinals.
No. 6 Tyra Turner/Rachel Wacholder, No. 7 Dianne DeNecochea/Barbra Fontana and No. 8 Angie Akers/Holly McPeak also will move on in the winner's bracket Saturday.
The women's final is set for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and will also air live on NBC.