Quinton Hooker, one of UND's all-time best basketball players, has taken the first step in his professional career.
Hooker announced Wednesday he's signed with GTK Gliwice in the Polish National Basketball League.
Hooker, a native of Brooklyn Park, Minn., will travel to Gliwice, a town in the southern portion of Poland, on Aug. 15.
The team's season begins in September with preseason games starting in late August.
Hooker said the decision felt similar to choosing a college.
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"There were other countries interested ... Hungary, Kosovo, Ukraine and Belgium," Hooker said. "It really came down to a lot of prayer and talking to a lot of people."
Hooker said a phone call from GTK Gliwice's head coach was a key part of the process.
"He gave me his thoughts on me and where he sees me fitting in," Hooker said. "It was really nice to be able to communicate with the person I was playing for over there."
Hooker said UND's 2015 trip to Europe, with stops in Italy and France, opened his eyes to the basketball world outside of the United States.
Hooker recently became engaged to a girlfriend he's had since high school. He said she'll join him in Poland, as well.
Hooker, UND's sixth-highest scorer in school history, led UND to its first NCAA tournament and scored 25 points in the Fighting Hawks' first-round loss to No. 2 Arizona last March.
He was a first team all-Big Sky performer as a junior and senior. As a senior, he averaged 19.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists in leading the Fighting Hawks to a Division I program record 22 wins.
Hooker is the only player in UND history to score more than 1,500 points, secure 400-plus rebounds and hand out 400-plus assists.
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This summer, Hooker played in the Twin Cities Pro-Am. Prior to that, he had NBA tryouts with the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
