Former Portland State basketball player Ezekiel Alley has signed a professional contract to play in Spain. Alley will compete for TAU Castello in the LEB Gold League this coming season.
Alley played for the Vikings this past season, averaging 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, in his senior year. In league play, Alley averaged 13.3 points. He ranked second on the team in scoring and led in assists.
Prior to coming to PSU, Alley played at Division II Northwest Nazarene. He earned NABC All-District honors for the Nighthawks after averaging 19.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists as a junior.
Alley credits his time at Portland State as a big step toward earning a professional opportunity.
"Portland State helped me a lot," said Alley, via telephone from Togo in West Africa. "I wanted to go Division I at Portland State (from Northwest Nazarene) and show I could play at this (Division I) level. The coaches gave me confidence to play the game and that got me on track. It helped me a lot and opened up my game. I also learned to battle through little things.
"I always wanted to be a professional basketball player. It has been a goal for me since I got to college. I started to realize I could play at this level but had an injury my sophomore year in college. I kept the faith, I kept working and was able to achieve this for myself and my family."
Speaking of family, Alley has relatives in France as well as Togo, and should be able to lean on them while playing in Europe. In fact, his father is from Togo. That allowed Alley to get his passport and Visa through that country, affording him the opportunity to play in Spain. Teams can only have two imports from the United States, but Alley has dual citizenship.
Alley expects his skills as a ball-handler and shot creator will lend itself to TAU Castello.
"They told me just play my game and come out and score," he said. "They have ball-handlers and distributors, but they don't have a lot of players who can create off the dribble. They thought I was the missing piece."
Alley is just the latest of many former Vikings playing pro ball. Sixteen former members of the Portland State basketball program played professionally over the past year in countries around the world.
