Making the leap

West Winnipeg

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/08/2023 (971 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipegger Niyah Becker has signed her first professional basketball contract in Slovenia, a central European country located almost 7,500 kilometres from her family home in southwest Winnipeg.

Come September, she’ll be playing for ŽKK Cinkarna Celje, a women’s basketball club in Celje, a city of nearly 40,000 people.

Becker’s used to playing away from home, as she’s played at the NCAA Div. 1 level at Wake Forest University (2021-23), in North Carolina, and for the University of Utah from 2018-2021, but this will be her first time in a non-English-speaking country.

”I really wanted to talk to the coach and a couple players that (had) been on the team previously,” Becker said, adding that it’s often hard to know what to expect from a club knowing only word-of-mouth. “I felt really reassured … I feel like talking to the coach and getting his take on how he likes to play basketball and run a team, and the past players’ perspective, their reassurance, (it told me) that it was a really great place, a good competition, good city, and that the people are good people … (It made) me confident that going to this — it was the right decision.”

Becker has been playing for Canadian age-group national teams since she was 16, and recently played with the under-23 team at the Global Jam international tournament in Toronto (after being the last player cut from the full national team). She has made her mark as a wing player, and will continue in that role at her new club, where she’ll be switching between 3 and 4, offensive positions that will make her a central point-scoring asset.

“She is a versatile player who can play in different positions,” stated Damir Grgić, coach of ŽKK Cinkarna Celje, in a recent press release. “She has been a part of the Canadian national team since she was a child, which in itself speaks of her qualities and potential.”

In the future, Becker aims to solidify her professional career in Europe, while also continuing to represent Canada at international tournaments such as the Summer Olympic Games.

”I would love to just keep working my way up,” she said. “I’m overseas and getting better and going as far as I can, honestly.”

Becker is spending the summer at home in Winnipeg, give or take some time on well-deserved vacation, before she moves onward to Europe for the season, which runs from September to May.

“It’s a really great thing,” Becker explained. “You know, those people you can meet or those places that you can go, or those (achievements) you can have. Let’s take a jump in and get it.”