COMMERCE– Texas A&M University-Commerce graduate and women's basketball All-American Brianna Wise has signed with ŽKK Kraljevo, a professional basketball team in Kraljevo, Serbia. Wise signed her contract over the weekend and will report to training camp in August, with the season beginning in October.
 
"I never really thought in the beginning of my career that I could make it this far," Wise said. "I had injuries and a lot of setbacks. But I always came back from adversity and fought through. I'm just happy that I had the mindset and the strength to push myself that far and that I can continue to play.  I played against a lot of great competition [in my time at A&M-Commerce].  They say European basketball is different but I am ready to learn and get adjusted."
 
In her two seasons with the Lions, Wise showed her versatility and skill every time she stepped out onto the court. She played in 59 games in her career, averaging 13.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. During her junior season, she was named to the Lone Star Conference All-Defensive team and led the league in free throw percentage, helping lead the Lions to their second 20-win season in school history. Wise then took her game to new heights in her senior year. She became the first Lion player in 10 years to be named an All-American (WBCA) and was both a First Team All-Region selection and a First Team All-LSC selection. She averaged 17.1 points during the season, which was second in the LSC, and she finished fifth in all of Division II with 172 made free throws, the second most free throws of any player in program history in a single season.
 
Wise was the Swiss Army knife of the team, playing multiple positions and for nearly half of her games, she was the sixth player off the bench to provide the Lion's with scoring, defense and versatility. She scored in double figures in 37 games in her career and reached 20 or more points in 16 different games, 14 of which came in her senior year. She set the school record with 19 free throws in a game and finished her career as the third-best free throw shooter in program history (80.3 percent) and the fourth-best three-point shooter (35.2 percent). She also is ninth in program history in free throws made and 10th in blocked shots. Wise scored more than 800 points in her two-year Lion career, helping lead the Lions to two of their best seasons in program history.
 
"It's incredible to see the journey that Brianna Wise has taken and exciting to see where she will go," said A&M-Commerce head women's basketball coach Jason Burton. "She went from barely being recruited out of high school and again barely recruited out of junior college to being one of the best players in Division II this year. A&M-Commerce Women's Basketball enjoyed two of its program's best years because of Bri. Her versatility allowed us to play her all over the floor. She consistently played wing, forward and point guard for us, and that is what her new team is Serbia likes.
 
"For them she will primarily play the point and shooting guard position. I think by now everyone knows Bri has the ability to score the ball at a very high level, but her ability to create for others and guard multiple positions is something she does just as well. I couldn't be more happy for her or more proud of her. This is her moment and she is going to embrace it and excel in it like she always does."
 
Burton also thanked former Lion men's basketball player Scooby Johnson for his help in making Wise's dream a reality.
 
"I coached him in my first year here when I was on the men's side," Burton said. "He's been a professional basketball player ever since he left here and he is the one who got us connected with Bri's agent. If it weren't for a former Lion helping out, this may not have happened."
 
The ZKK Kraljevo club plays in both the First Women's Basketball League of Serbia (ZLS) and the WABA League. The ZLS is a 12-team league comprised of Serbia's top teams and is the highest professional basketball league in Serbia. The WABA League is a top-level regional basketball league featuring 12 teams from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Macedonia. Kraljevo finished with a 17-5 record during the 2017-18 ZLS season, which placed them third in the league. The team finished with a 2-8 record in the WABA.