Conestogo athlete signs pro contract in Luxembourg
Basketball has taken Alex Klein from local leagues to an NCAA scholarship and now overseas
CONESTOGO’S ALEX KLEIN IS going pro.
The basketball player signed a year-long contract to play with a Luxembourg team, the BBC Etzella.
“It’s an amazing feeling, really. I didn’t know what I wanted to do upon graduating from school in Rhode Island this past year,” said Klein. “And then I realized playing in America was actually attainable for me, and if the opportunity was there I might as well take it and see where it leads me.”
Klein attended Bryant University, where she just graduated in marketing with a minor in psychology. She also played for the school’s Division 1 basketball team, the Bulldogs, receiving a full scholarship from the NCAA.
“My junior year was where I peaked basketballwise. And then this past season – my senior year – is when I was a captain of the team. I really excelled and kind of stepped into the shoes that were laid out in front of me.”
Klein has been steadily advancing along the professional basketball path for quite a while now. She started playing basketball in Grade 3, progressing to play for her high school basketball team at Waterloo Collegiate.
Not stopping there, though, Klein also joined the Kitchener-Waterloo Lightning Jewel (junior elite) before university scouts from the U.S. discovered her. And now Klein is preparing to move again in August – this time all the way to Ettelbruck, Luxembourg.
“I really like the idea of being able to travel and see other various places in Europe,” she says about the move.
“I’ve never been to Europe, except for France, so I’m really excited to explore and adventure overseas in that respect. And
overall just the country itself is beautiful, and the team right now has won a few Luxembourg Cups.”
Etzella Ettelbruck is part of the 10-team Total League, and the oldest of the current clubs, having been formed in 1934. Each team plays the other – home and away – for a total of 18 games in the regular season. The club has won 14 national titles, second most and tops among active organizations.
As for what comes next after her one-year contract expires, Klein is weighing her options.
“I have no idea. I actually have no idea. Usually people who go for a year, they either come home or they continue playing elsewhere in the world,” she says.
“So I’ll keep that as an option, but I also might come home. It’s still up in the air – we’ll see where it goes.”
In the meantime, the Total League can expect to pick up a few viewers from this neck of the woods when play resumes in the fall.