Former Raven Kevin McCleery is no stranger to the basketball court. As a recent Carleton graduate with a bachelor of law, McCleery said his original plan was to take the LSAT, go to law school, and become a lawyer.

But after hearing how much work his brother put into law school and the lack of free time, McCleery said he thought there might be something else he’d like to try.

McCleery, 22, who owns a dual Canadian-Dutch citizenship, said he wants to play pro basketball in Europe for two to four years to see how it goes.

“There’s a bit of interest," said McCleery, who said he will receive news from European team representatives as early as July and will make his final decision in August.

“It’s about who works harder, who works smarter, who’s realistic and identifies what they need to do,” said McCleery on pro basketball.

In his final year with the Ravens, McCleery led the team to a 20-2 record in the regular season and was the 10th leading scorer in Ontario University Athletics men’s basketball with 16.8 points per game.

However, in his first three years at Carleton, McCleery said he took the opportunity of playing on the team for granted.

“I missed high school friends, I missed the lack of responsibility and didn’t think of how lucky I was to play basketball at such a high level.”

“You get back what you put into it,” said McCleery, who said he has learned how to be more confident and prepared on and off the court after being in a leadership role.

McCleery said Ravens head coach Dave Smart has been helping him get in contact with the right people overseas.

In Europe, the game is “faster, bigger and stronger,” said McCleery. “There’s a big emphasis on shooting over there and they like big guys who can score.”

On occasion, McCleery said he still talks to his old teammates Stu Turnbull, Aaron Doornekamp and Ryan Bell, who have all gone on to play pro basketball in Europe for Germany, Italy and Greece respectively.

“I’ve asked them a million questions about what it’s like to play [in Europe] to learn a bit from them,” said McCleery.

His parents have also been supportive of his decision, he said.

In the future, McCleery said he would eventually like to pursue law, though for now his focus is still on basketball.

“I want to have success wherever I end up playing,” said McCleery. "I would regret going right to school and giving up basketball."