An Austin High graduate is making a major move to play basketball professionally this upcoming year.

Lisa Bue, who graduated from Austin High School in 2004, recently accepted a contract to play professional women’s basketball in Bosnia and Herzegovina located in Sarajevo, making her the first ever Austin girls basketball player to play the sport professionally.

“I’m really happy and really lucky and it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” Bue said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more than to make a living playing basketball. It’s a once in a life time opportunity.”

While Bue had a stellar 4-year career at North Dakota State University, she gained attention from pro scouts at a pro combine in New Hampshire in June. While there, she was among 75 players who played games for two days. The games were watched by agencies and filmed for future references.

Bue said one of the agencies offered her a contract shortly after the workout.

“I took it home and looked it over with my parents to make sure it was OK before signing it,” she said.

After Bue signed with the agency, it found an opportunity in Sarejevo for her and she agreed to go.

While in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bue will play for Zeljeznicar, which plays in the Adriatic League, a top-level league that also features teams from Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia — all former republics of SFR Yugoslavia.

Bue’s team won the Bosnia and Herzegovina Women’s Unified League the past three years. Her squad will also play in the Euro Cup, where it will travel around Europe and play. Bue will head to Sarajevo in a few weeks and she will play at least until April and possibly May if the season lasts that long.

“I just know I’ll be playing in a Bosnian League and I’ll play in the Euro Cup,” she said. “That makes it appealing. I’ll be able to travel all over Europe and play. That will be really good exposure. You’re always looking to move up a level and that will give me a good chance.”

While Bue looks for that chance, she’ll also get paid a contract and living expenses to see much of Europe.

“So many people spend thousands of dollars to go to Europe and I’ll get paid to do it,” Bue said. “I’m super excited about it.”

While there may be a language barrier in some situations, Bue knows a few players who have played overseas and she was told that a lot of Europeans speak English. There will also be one other American on the team’s roster along with Bue.

“I guess I’ll find out (about language differences) when I get there,” she said. “When my dad called the Holiday Inn in Bosnia, the guy there spoke perfect English. So that was a good sign.”

Bue, who has a degree in elementary education, does not have a timetable for how long she wants to play pro ball.

“I’ll do it as long as I can if I’m healthy and happy,” she said.

Bue finished her college career at NDSU as the school’s 19th best scorer with 1,245 points and she was the 2008 Summit League Player of the Year. Bue is Austin High School’s all-time leading scorer with 1,592 points.