North Preston basketball star signs pro contract with German team

North Preston basketball star Daneesha Provo, 24, is about to find out what it's like to play professionally.

Provo signed on theweekend to play for Freiburg in Germany's top women's league.

She signed the contract at home in Nova Scotia with her entire family present to mark the occasion.

"I think the signing really meant a lot for me in the sense that I had all my family with me," she said.

"Playing pro is something I've always dreamed of since I was a little girl, so we had a family barbecue and I signed my papers there, and it was great."

Provo played five seasons in U.S. college basketball.

She began her varsity career at Clemson University,but transferred after one season to the University of Utah. The six-foot guard became a key member of the Utes.

She got an additional year of eligibility there after a knee injury cut short her 2018-19 season.

"I really grew a lot there, both as a person and a player," said Provo. "I made a lot of connections there that will help me now and in the future."

Provo left Nova Scotia at age 14 to pursue basketballat Kent School, a prep school in Connecticut.

A decade later, Provo has two degrees and is a member of Canada's national women's basketball team. She's looking forward to representing Canada at the Olympic games next year in Tokyo.

"That's always been one of my dreams since I was little."

Provo has been working on her skills regularly this summer and she's also providing one-on-one skill sessions to younger girls. She has also runa couple of all-girls group sessions.

"The girls just love it," said Provo, who said she enjoys her mentor role. "I just want to be a role model to them to show them that they can make it as far as they want to."

Provo saidher goal is to play in the WNBAat some point, something no Nova Scotia player has done. She hopes a year or two of playing in Europe, combined with her national team experience, will improve her chances of landing a tryout with a WNBA team.

Provo will leave for Germany in early September. Freiburg is a city of 230,000 located in the southwestern part of the country near the borders of France and Switzerland.