Alyssa Charlston inks pro deal with Luxembourg club

During the past four years, Alyssa Charlston established herself as one of the top women's basketball players in the Western Athletic Conference and one of the best all-time at the University of Idaho. Now she's ready to take her talents to the next level.

The former Vandal standout announced the signing of her first professional contract Wednesday afternoon, a one-year deal sending her to Amicale Steinsel, a team located in Steinsel, Luxembourg.

"It's such a great honor and it really means a lot to our program and our university," Idaho women's basketball coach Jon Newlee said. "Alyssa has been a tremendous player for our school and is such a great person. I couldn't be happier for her."

After Charlston wrapped up her collegiate career by guiding the Vandals to back-to-back WAC championships and a pair of NCAA Tournament berths, she enlisted the help of an agent. The Sammamish, Wa. native majored with a degree in broadcast and digital media, but didn't want to abandon her life on the hardwood quite yet. When her agent landed her an offer from the Luxembourg club, she was thrilled.

"I was able to talk to a girl who played there last year - Katie Baker from Montana - and she told me a lot of good stuff about the coach, the team and the area," Charlston said. "It's a very exciting opportunity."

A 6-foot-1 athlete with good ball-handling skills, Charlston spent most of her career at Idaho playing in the post at the four-spot. While she doesn't know for sure if she will be a regular starter for Amicale Steinsel, she anticipates spending most of her time playing the same position, occasionally rotating in at the three- or five-spot.

"There's not a ton of back-to-the basket stuff - they use a lot of motion offense," Charlston said. "It's a much more free style of play, more freedom in the offense and more movement; there isn't nearly as much structure in European basketball as there is here in the states. There aren't as many set plays where you have to run to a certain spot no matter what."

Charlston wrapped up her career as the fifth all-time scoring leader at Idaho with 1,587 points, was fourth all-time in blocks (128), finished fifth in rebounds (855) and is in the top-ten for many other school records - all while playing in a record 130 consecutive games. Her new club will doubtlessly expect Charlston to continue her high-impact style of play.

"Typically when they sign Americans it's because they want a more offensive threat," Charlston said. "Americans often have more individual pressure to perform, and while I don't want to make any predictions, it sounds like a situation where I'll be used quite a bit."

Luxembourg is a peaceful, affluent country, boasting the second-highest GDP per-capita in the world (trailing only Qatar). Bordered by France, Germany and Belgium, the land-locked grand duchy is one of the most diminutive countries in Europe - slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island. It's location, however, is ideal for someone like Charlston who loves to travel.

"Being able to travel is one of the most exciting things for me and I've got Paris, Frankfurt and Brussels all near me," Charlston said. "It's going to a great place because Luxemburg is right at the heart of Europe and I'll definitely be taking advantage of those opportunities. They're giving me a car, which isn't super common over there, and all I have to do is pay for gas and two hours later, I can be in Paris. It sounds really dreamy and I'm very excited - I know there will be struggles with it too - but I couldn't be more excited for the opportunity."

Charlston will join her new club in September. Amicale's first regular-season contest is slated for Oct. 4.

Ben Handel can be reached at (208) 883-4629 or by email at bhandel@dnews.com.