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Beisch speaking a universal hoop language

Ex-Dodger basketball standout playing pro ball in Albania

Submitted photo: Ex-Fort Dodge standout Kyle Beisch drives to the basket for KB Teuta Durres recently in the Albanian Basketball League.

Kyle Beisch always dreamed of playing professional basketball.

The details didn’t matter. If the 2016 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate had to travel halfway around the globe to make it happen, his bags were packed.

When the KB Teuta Durres squad of the Albania Basketball League decided it needed a shooting guard earlier this month, Beisch — a 2020 graduate of Minot State University — was contacted. The 24-year-old took the plunge, making reservations for an 18-hour plane ride to the country in southeastern Europe.

“Their coach messaged me that they were interested and told me to send film,” Beisch said. “Then they messaged back with an offer to finish the season with them.

“I just love the game of basketball, and felt like I was good enough to compete professionally.”

The 6-foot-3 Beisch joined the club, which currently has a 9-2 record and is leading the Albania-Superliga standings, on March 12. He’s played two games, scoring 25 total points and hitting seven three-point baskets in just 39 minutes of action off the bench. The team won both contests.

Beisch has also suited up four times for Teuta in the Liga Unike — a division formed last season — recording 26 points.

KB Teuta Durres — a franchise founded in 1925 — has six regular-season games remaining between now and April 24. They are the defending champions.

Albania, located on the Balkan Peninsula, is a country with a population of 2.8 million.

“The biggest adjustment is just the physicality of the game and being on a new team in the middle of the season, trying to figure out how to fit in,” Beisch said. “Off the court, there really hasn’t been that much of an adjustment. Most of the people I come in contact with speak at least a little bit of English, so (the culture shock) hasn’t been a problem.

“My short-term goals are to help the team win a championship and play well enough to get a contract for next season, either here or with some other team overseas.”

The time difference — Albania is seven hours ahead of Fort Dodge — tends to create barriers that Beisch is still navigating.

“I miss my family the most and my close friends,” Beisch admitted. “Being this far away, it’s very hard for me to communicate with everyone back home.”

Beisch ranks among the Top-10 scorers in Dodger history, with 798 points in three seasons. He then had an all-ICCAC career at Iowa Lakes Community College, tallying 992 total points in two years.

As a senior at Minot State in 2019-20, Beisch averaged 19.5 points for the Div. II Beavers.

Beisch always stays true to his roots — even from 5,700 miles away.

“Growing up (in Fort Dodge) helped me out because you have to work for everything. Nothing is handed to you; we are always the underdogs,” Beisch said. “Just having people around me that showed me how to work hard (at an early age) definitely influenced me in a positive way.”

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