Ever since his youth basketball days, Bryan Foss had dreamt about playing in the collegiate ranks. Having accomplished that goal by becoming a standout player for the University of Minnesota Duluth in the process, Foss longed to extend his stay on the basketball court as his days in a Bulldog uniform were nearing an end this past spring.

All the hard work, the countless hours on the court and in the weight room paid off for Foss this week as he signed a contract with Queluz Sintra Património Mundial, a pro team based out of Queluz, Portugal.

“For me, it’s a huge accomplishment coming this far with basketball. Ever since our season at UMD ended last spring, I’ve been working out and I’ve seen people in our conference go to Europe and found myself thinking why am I not over there yet? What’s happening? What am I doing wrong? But, through it all I tried to stay positive and with signing with this team, things finally came my way,” Foss said as he prepared to embark on his pro basketball apprenticeship.

“Ever since I can remember, I wanted to play basketball. I wanted to work my way up to being on a traveling team, then to play varsity basketball in high school and to eventually work my way up to playing college basketball,” said Foss.

“As time has gone on, I’ve just continued to go further and further with my basketball goals and playing beyond college became one of them.”

Foss, a Plymouth, Minn., native, started all 29 of UMD’s contests last season, averaging 17.3 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game.

The 2006-07 All-North Central Conference honoree shined in league play during his final season in a Bulldog uniform, averaging 17.8 ppg and 7.5 rpg in 12 conference games.

His efforts were good enough for No. 5 on the NCC charts in scoring for last season. Foss also finished conference play tied for No. 2 in rebounding.

Foss is set to fly to Portugal this Friday (Oct. 12) and join his new team the following day. Though he stated that the team would like to see him suited up for games this weekend, he won’t be seeing any time on the court until next week as to allow him to recover from his trans-Atlantic flight.

“I’m both nervous and excited about this,” said Foss, “Obviously I’m excited because I achieved this goal of mine I’ve had since I was little, but I’m a little scared because it is a new environment and a new setting.

“From the people I’ve been talking to, they’ve been telling me not to shelter myself when I get over there. They’ve been telling me that I should go out and take day trips after practice, to spend time doing as much as I can and to explore Portugal so I can get the full experience of this.”

Though Foss has been the one with the goal of continuing his playing career and has put in the work during the off season to get to this point, he credits Gary Holquist, UMD’s head men’s basketball coach with helping him get here.

Foss said when he approached Holquist for help in finding an agent, it was he who made some calls and connected Foss with his current agent.

“As far as the coaching staff at UMD goes, they’ve been nothing but help. Coach Holquist recommended me to my agent from another coach,” said Foss.

Not only will Foss be able to extend his basketball career when he joins his new squad this weekend but he’ll also have great benefits to go along with it.

The team will be supplying him with full health and dental coverage as well as providing him with a car and a fully furnished apartment. Though no specifics have been announced as to the terms of his contract, it is known that the team he is joining and the league in which he will play in, signs players to a one-year contract.

The only other American on the team with Foss is former University of North Carolina player, Byron Sanders. He played for the Tar Heels during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.

Queluz played to a 12-20 record last season and fell to Ovarense in the quarter-finals of the UZO Liga playoffs. In 2007, Queluz withdrew from Liga and went to the 15 team Proliga.

Foss and his Bulldog teammates, who won seven of their final eight games last season, closed the books on 2006-07 with an overall record of 16-13 (6-6 in the NCC).