DaytonDailyNews.com

Ivan Harris is not the only Springfielder trying to build a pro basketball career.

Former Shawnee High School and Cedarville University standout Brittany Smart is a step further down that path after signing late last month with the Point Chaud Basketball Club in Sprimont, Belgium.

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Brittany SmartClick to enlarge

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Not bad for someone who wasn't sure she even wanted to play professionally.

"I didn't know for sure if the Lord wanted me to play, and if I still had the passion to play," Smart said last week. "It's another year of beating up your body and practicing every day.

"But I went to a tryout and I played well and got about 10 job offers and had my choice of where to go."

A pro career, however, was secondary to her walk with Jesus Christ.

"As I prayed about it, I knew He wanted me to play," said Smart. "I knew He wanted me to be involved with basketball somehow. He gave me the skills for basketball and the passion for basketball. I knew I'd be involved with it for a few more years, I just wasn't sure how."

So her Belgium experience, which begins in mid-September and runs through April, is sort of like a missionary trip.

"In a way, I guess it is," she said. "It's like a year missions trip. Talk about fully relying on the Lord — I don't know anyone over there.

"It'll definitely be hard. This will be my first test of living far away, and first time of feeling homesick. I know I'm going to miss being here and being supported by Cedarville.

"Going over there is a big step. But for me, it is so much more because I can tell others about Christ."

You have to figure that with her credentials, she had to at least try her hand at pro ball. Smart is the Ohio collegiate women's and NAIA Division II career scoring leader with 3,236 points.

"The WNBA could be my goal, but my immediate goal is seeing what the Lord has for me," she said.

She's not closing any doors because He's not.

"This is a good steppingstone to playing at a higher level, maybe a good steppingstone to get a WNBA tryout," Smart said. "I'm not going to try to get ahead of myself. I'll point towards now and let tomorrow take care of itself."

Contact this reporter at 328-0364 or krowe@coxohio.com.