Plum and St. Francis (Pa.) graduate Courtney Zezza will begin her professional basketball career in Greece.
The Red Flash’s all-time leader in blocked shots (299) signed a contract with Kronos Agiou Dimitriou, a member of the Greek C Basketball League.
The league has been in operation for 35 years. Kronos captured the league championship in the 2014-15 season.
“When I graduated high school going into college, I would’ve never thought to myself, ‘Oh, I am going to be a pro basketball player,’” Zezza said. “Now, saying it and knowing it is real, it’s so exciting.”
https://twitter.com/RedFlashWBB/status/1148631290830131200
Zezza led the Northeast Conference with 2.7 blocks per game as a senior. She averaged 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds.
The 6-foot-4 captain also hit 37.6 percent of her shots from 3-point range.
She scored 12 points and added six rebounds and two steals in her career finale, a 65-54 loss to Robert Morris in the NEC championship game March 17.
“I am so excited for Courtney as she will continue her basketball career as a professional player in Greece,” St. Francis director of athletics Susan Robinson Fruchtl said Tuesday in an statement. “Courtney worked very hard over her career here at SFU to continually improve and get to this point where she is a professional player.”
Zezza, who played in 128 career games at St. Francis, took part in a professional combine in early April in Tampa, Fla.
She was evaluated by more than 30 professional agents and WNBA coaches and learned about what she had to offer a professional team in the United States or Europe.
Zezza said then her progression at St. Francis sparked the possibility of joining a professional team overseas. Her team is based about 10 miles outside of the Greek capital Athens.
“I had other looks, but my agent made sure he found me the best option,” she said. “I don’t know much about the team yet, but I do know it is a pretty good team that plays at a high level.”
Zezza joins Red Flash teammate Jess Kovatch in the professional ranks. Kovatch signed a pro contract with German club TV Saarlouis Royals in late May.
“It is great that she gets the opportunity to do something she loves and experience another culture,” Robinson Fruchtl said of Zezza. “We are really proud of the person and player that Courtney has become, and I can’t wait for her to experience all that she will in Greece.”
Zezza reports to her new team Sept. 1.
