Professional basketball outside of the country could await former Latrobe teammates Austin Butler and Jake Biss, but what comes along with it remains somewhat of a mystery to the backcourt stalwarts.

Should they not play stateside …

There’s the living out of suitcases part. The strange cities part. The language barrier issue.

But several other former local stars know what to expect after their barnstorming tours overseas and are proof that the other half can live that good life. The hoop dreams life.

From Ben McCauley to Nick Novak, Chris Fite and Kason Harrell, the area has been well represented in global leagues. They have some answers for the up-and-coming pros.

Killer Bs

Butler and Biss completed five-year college careers and have begun to explore opportunities at the next level.

Butler played a year at Charlotte after four years at Holy Cross, while Biss spent his entire college career at Shippensburg.

A 1,713-point scorer in his college career, Butler recently made $5,000 playing in the three-on-three national championship during Final Four weekend.

He hopes to make a lot more playing professionally. He recently hired an agent, Shawn Gates of Entersport, and has been busy “working out and staying ready.”

“I’ll have some workouts throughout the summer with teams,” Butler said. “It’s early and a lot of the overseas stuff is not figured out until the draft is over and it gets closer to summer. So I’ll know more in the upcoming weeks.”

Butler also has some irons in the fire for three-on-three play.

“Right now, I’m just staying ready and letting my agent work for me and when the time comes for whatever it may be, I’ll be ready,” he said.

Confidence has never been a problem for any of the players mentioned here. It isn’t for Butler, either.

“I think just me being consistent and proving I can play on the same court with some of the best in the game throughout the past five years really showed me that I can continue to play this game professionally,” Butler said. “I’ve continued to get better each year, and the best part about it is I’m not even close to my ceiling. Playing professionally has always been a dream, so when I get fortunate enough to sign that first contract, it’s going to hit me for sure.”

Butler averaged 12.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in his final collegiate season. He started all 31 games for the 49ers.

The possibility exists that Butler and Biss could get workouts with NBA or G-League teams, a possible precursor to getting their names on the proverbial draft board and drawing interest from teams across the pond.

“It’s been a dream probably since I picked up the sport back in second or third grade,” Biss said of playing in the pros. “It didn’t really sink in until after my freshman year at Shippensburg when I watched Dustin Sleva make the transition to the professional level. Seeing him make it professionally gave me that confidence boost and realization that I can make it too, if I put in the work that I watched him put in his senior year.”

Sleva, who played at Montour, plays for a team in Paris.

Biss also signed with an agency, Jan Lugtenberg and his partner, Misch Engel, who are with Court Side based in Europe.

This season, Biss led Shippensburg in points (16.9), assists(3.7), 3-point percentage (38.7), steals (1.4) and minutes per game (35.6).

His coach, Chris Fite, also a Latrobe alum, played 11 years in Europe before getting into coaching. He played for teams in England and Germany.

Word on the street is that players don’t sign with pro teams until late in the summer, Biss said.

“I have been told there is some interest from a team in the BNXT league in Holland,” Biss said.

Big Ben still tolls

McCauley, who was one of the WPIAL’s top scorers when he played at Yough (2,283 points), took his game to North Carolina State before finding his way to the pros.

Now 35, he is still playing, for Team Brujos de Guayama of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional in Puerto Rico. This is his 13th season on the professional circuit.

“It’s actually hard to believe,” McCauley said of his longevity.

McCauley’s list of stops include France (Strasboug, Chorale Roanne), Belgium (Belfius Mons-Hainaut), Spain (Zaragoza), Ukraine (BC Donetsk), Turkey (Istanbul BB and Turk Telekom), Poland (SKS Starogard Gdanski, King Szczecin and WKS Wrocław), Israel (Maccabi Ashdod), Puerto Rico (Brujos de Guayama) and the NBA G-League (Fort Wayne Mad Ants).

“The longer I’ve played, the more I realize how important the offseason is,” McCauley said. “You need to take care of your body and continue to train. About halfway through my career, I moved back down to Raleigh, N.C., so I could work out at N.C. State in the off season.”

While some players have to turn to side jobs to make ends meet, McCauley has managed to make a living solely with basketball.

“Basketball has been my only profession since graduating in 2009,” he said.

McCauley said incoming pros need to slow down and relish the time they spend at the next level. There are a ton of leagues, from obscure to prominent, but opportunities come and go as thousands of players compete to make basketball their livelihood.

“Take it all in,” McCauley said. “Don’t worry about what you’re missing at home. Go out and see new places. Take in the culture of wherever you’re playing. Enjoy every moment. You only get so long to play a sport as a job, and how many chances do you get to visit Turkey, France, Spain, etc.?

“You’ll always have home and the people there. Go explore. I’m from a small town in western PA. Never did I think I’d be able to visit the places I’ve been and see the things I’ve seen.”

Nick of time

Former Franklin Regional and Pitt-Johnstown star Novak played seven seasons in Europe for five teams: SSV Lol Bernau (Germany), AD Ovarense (Portugal), SCU Craiova (Romania), Oviedo (Spain), and Vitoria SC Guimaraes (Portugal).

While he could go on for hours about his exploits, Novak remembers the gleam of turning pro and how it went by in the blink of an eye.

He doesn’t want aspiring pros to take their opportunities for granted.

“People get caught up a lot in, ‘You’re getting paid to play basketball,’” Novak said. “That is fantastic, absolutely. What you kind of don’t realize is everything that’s going on while you’re doing that. Making friends with teammates, guys you still stay in touch with — like I can go visit dudes in Europe tomorrow if I wanted.

“You’re getting to travel, experience different people and cultures. You end up in situations that you’re maybe uncomfortable but you look back and you learn a lot from it.”

Novak said European fans are unique and are quick to embrace players, American or otherwise.

“It may feel foreign to you, but ultimately it’s like you’re on the Steelers to them,” Novak said, referring to the celebrity that comes with playing on another continent. “The passion and taking what you’ve loved your whole life and being that star to a fan base there is just unmatched.”

Novak said Butler and Biss should prepare themselves for anything and “just roll with the punches.”

“You’re going to be in so many situations that make you scratch your head,” he said. “From different customs, to foods or crazy apartment situations, in the moment you might be frustrated, but it’s funny now. I’ll look back at certain places I thought I hated and I’m like, man, that might have been my favorite year. Just dive into it and take it for what it’s worth and adapt.”

Staying power is a key concept to this equation for Butler and Biss.

“Just because you play in college does not mean teams want to sign you,” Novak said. “Do something valuable that teams need to have you to win games and you get your ticket.”

Kason point

Harrell, a former Hempfield and Fort Wayne star, is playing in Ireland’s Super League for the Killestar Basketball Club.

He had a 56-point game earlier in the season and was selected as an all-star.

“The best part, for me, was just being able to travel to new places,” Harrell said. “Like, if you would’ve asked me in high school if I ever thought I’d be able to go to Ireland, I would’ve told you no. But God blessed me to be able to see more of his beautiful creation.

“My advice for newcomers is just to always stay in touch with family as much as possible. It’s tough being over there and not being with family, especially over the holidays, so it’s important to lean on your faith and your family as much as you can for support and motivation.”

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