His journey has taken him to 3 colleges. Now, C.J. Keyser is leading ODU.

He’s been featured in an ESPN documentary. He’s met NBA great Chris Paul. He’s played basketball all over the country for three colleges, facing competition both obscure and elite.

It’s been quite a ride for Old Dominion guard C.J. Keyser. Yet, in a way, it’s just getting started.

Keyser, who began his career at Wichita State and transferred to ODU from North Carolina Central, has emerged as a key figure for the Monarchs (5-8) as they begin the all-important Conference USA portion of their schedule tonight at Florida International.

With 14.2 points per game, the 6-foot-3 Keyser leads ODU and is 11th in C-USA in scoring. But Monarchs coach Jeff Jones believes Keyser’s best basketball might still be ahead of him.

“C.J. has played well for us,” Jones said. “The good news is he’s still learning. He’s learning what we want, and I think he’s learning what he can do in this system.”

Keyser, a 24-year-old sixth-year senior from Baltimore, is no stranger to learning new ways of doing things. He played at two different high schools before spending a prep year at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

Next, after earning status as one of the top 20 shooting guards in the nation, came two seasons at Wichita State, where he played sparingly as a freshman and thrived in a reserve role as a sophomore.

At N.C. Central, Keyser was twice named to All-MEAC teams and finished third in the league last season with 16.4 points per game while starring for coach LeVelle Moton.

With the conclusion of the 2020 MEAC Tournament canceled at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Keyser and the Eagles had to settle for the regular-season title.

But Keyser, again, was ready for a new challenge.

“I learned a lot from Coach Moton, and we won a championship together, and I’m super grateful for it,” Keyser said. “But I just wanted to try my hand at higher competition at a higher level, and I expressed that to him. He didn’t have no grief about it. He told me that was the right thing to do.”

When Keyser came into Moton’s office to deliver the news that he planned to transfer, Moton didn’t blink.

“We have no ill will for a guy that helped put a banner up,” Moton said. “If he felt like he needed to go to a higher level to prove himself, God bless him, right? He graduated. He did everything we asked him to do. He had a great experience here at North Carolina Central. He elevated himself, our program, his family. That’s all we ask of him.”

While at N.C. Central, Keyser was featured prominently in the Paul-backed ESPN docuseries “Why Not Us: North Carolina Central Basketball,” which followed the Eagles through a trying 2020-21 season derailed by COVID.

In addition to showing Moton throwing Keyser out of a practice, the series depicts Keyser arguing with a teammate over effort, a surprise visit from Paul and the team playing North Carolina tough on the road.

Now, Keyser is looking to elevate the Monarchs, who are trying to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018-19. And he’s doing it as a veteran with impeccable credentials.

Freshman guard Jadin Johnson is one of a handful of teammates who call Keyser “Uncle,” a nod to both his relatively advanced age and his obvious leadership role.

Johnson described Keyser as “definitely a funny dude” who makes sure no one keeps his head down for too long.

Despite the age difference, Keyser’s younger teammates relate to him, even while making jokes about the gap in years.

“Every day, all year,” Keyser said, laughing. “I never hear the end of it. I’m 24, and we’ve got 18-year-olds on the team. It’s like, ‘Wow, I’m so old.’ "

Johnson, 19, confessed to being among the chops-busters, but with a certain reverence.

“It is pretty old to me, but I learn a lot from him,” Johnson said. “He helps me through tough situations. He’s a really good leader on and off the court.”

Jones and his staff have worked since the preseason on getting the slashing Keyser more involved in the offense, encouraging him, within reason, to be more aggressive with the ball.

A flash of his abilities was evident in the second half of ODU’s 79-58 win over Manhattan on Nov. 15.

Keyser broke free behind a press, took a long pass from Jaylin Hunter and slammed home a windmill dunk reminiscent of Dominique Wilkins.

“He brought that almost to his foot, it looked like,” Hunter said after the game. “I didn’t even know he could get up like that.”

That’s because Keyser, perhaps showing his age and his low-key nature, is not really a dunker in practice.

“I’m not going to lie,” he said. “I try to save my legs as much as possible.”

Moton said he checks on Keyser with ODU’s coaches on occasion. Moton predicted before the season that Keyser would be one of C-USA’s best players.

There are no hard feelings about the star player’s departure.

“Once you’re part of the family, you’re a part of the family,” Moton said. “That’s how we take it. In this business of college basketball, we don’t take anything personal.”

Jones can relate. All-C-USA guard Malik Curry informed Jones last March of his intentions to leave for West Virginia, making Keyser all the more valuable.

“He’s going to get a lot of touches and a lot of looks,” Jones said. “I think his teammates and his coaches all have a lot of confidence in him, and he’s shown that he has the ability at that end of the floor to be a trusted scorer.”

As much as he’s already been around, Keyser hopes the journey doesn’t end with his college eligibility.

There are more arenas, more cities and higher levels of basketball to be found.

“I definitely want to finish off this year as strong as I possibly can, and who knows?” Keyser said. “Whether it be in the States or overseas, I’m just trying to go play somewhere where I can continue to play and make money.”

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com