If Thompson to Brandon was a big step, Adrianna Proulx’s taking a quantum leap.

The former Brandon University women’s basketball captain has signed with the Tubbergen Jolly Jumpers of Netherlands’ Women’s Basketball League.

“I like to look back now and see where I came from,” Proulx said. “It honestly blows my mind that this young, little Thompson girl who started playing basketball and never knew what it meant is going to be playing overseas in Europe.”

Proulx stood out quickly as a star in Thompson. She played on the R.D. Parker varsity squad as a freshman under former Bobcat Sara Gillis. Proulx led the Trojans to back-to-back AAA provincial titles, the only ones in school history before joining BU in 2016.

The five-foot-11 guard/forward started games in all five of her seasons, including four under coach Novell Thomas and one after the cancelled 2020-21 season for James Bambury.

She trained harder than ever during what was essentially a forced redshirt season to ensure her final one was her best. Looking back, she realizes the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic worked out.

“I would have had a year off in my sixth year of university and who knows what path that would have taken me on,” Proulx said. “Being able to have those six years and train at that level for six years, all the coaches I’ve had, my team was so fantastic to be a part of in Brandon. The community and our training and everything … really prepared me for this opportunity.”

Proulx averaged 11 points per game over her final three seasons, even though her minutes dipped as Bambury spread playing time out more than a senior may have wished with the team in rebuild mode.

Proulx still showcased her talents as a taller guard with three-point range and the ability to guard all five positions.

She hoped to jump straight into professional basketball but didn’t land with a team last summer. She jumped into full-time teaching at Sturgeon Heights in Winnipeg, coaching the Huskies varsity girls’ team as well as Basketball Manitoba’s 18-and-under Targeted Athlete Program (TAP) club.

Proulx’s also assistant coaching the 15U girls’ provincial team this summer.

Meanwhile, she’s been training with former Manitoba Bisons men’s guard Matt Koenig of Alliance Athletics and plans to lean heavily into skill-development work once school’s out in June.

“And it’s a lot,” she said, “full-time teaching and coaching different teams … and trying to train myself as much as I can on top of that. I have such a busy schedule and it’s a lot of work but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She joined a Peg City women’s league team and has scrimmaged with the University of Winnipeg Wesmen women.

This year, Proulx sought out an agent and found Marcus Reed of Elite Global Athletes, who did the heavy lifting in finding the Jolly Jumpers.

“Marcus has been absolutely incredible,” Proulx said. “He’s been with me every step of the way since I started working with him at the beginning of this year.

“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have found this opportunity.”

It’s a one-year deal that Proulx said is good enough that she won’t require a second job, which isn’t always the case when Canadians sign European pro contracts.

The countdown is on. Proulx will be a pro in less than four months.

“I hope it gives people the idea that no matter where you come from … you can always make your dreams come true if you try as hard as you can,” Proulx said.

“I’m hoping it won’t end there.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @thomasmfriesen