LA CROSSE — Lexi Donarski has closed the first chapter of her professional basketball career and is ready to see what’s written for a second.
But the Aquinas High School graduate has spent the summer at home and started this week by working the two-day Davis Brothers Camp at Central before turning that page.
“It’s a lot of fun to get to connect with kids in the community,” Donarski said after the first session Monday morning. “Growing up, I used to go to a lot of different camps at colleges or high schools in the area.
“To be able to interact with the younger generation and answer questions about how to take the next step to middle school basketball or high school basketball or college and encourage them that hard work can pay off is important for them.”
Donarski’s hard work has her on the path to Spain, where she will suit up for Cadi La Seu in La Seu d’Urgell.
“It’s a very small town in northern Spain,” she said. “It’s near the France border, but I’m excited to go to Spain and travel around Spain for away games.”
Donarski, who competed collegiately at Iowa State and North Carolina after her career as a Blugold, played guard last season in Budapest, Hungary. She averaged 12 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals for a team that advanced through the first round of the playoffs and into the final group of four for the first time since 1989. Her team placed fourth.
Donarski said the game played in Hungary was much different than the one she played at Iowa State or North Carolina. The structure, she said, was scaled back and allowed for more freedom with the ball.
“You literally just play basketball, and whatever happens with that, happens,” she said. “I had the ball in my hands a lot and was trusted to make decisions while attacking, getting mid-range pull-ups and finishing at the rim.
“It was a lot of fun.”
The traveling rule was another adjustment, but Donarski weathered that to get herself another opportunity. She also took advantage of her time in another country with plenty of exploration and travel before concluding the season in early May.
“Whenever you have a weekend off, you are booking a flight or traveling to another country to see,” Donarski said. “It’s pretty cool to say I’m 24 and living in Europe and able to do this.”
The first couple of months in Budapest weren’t easy, she said. Being that far away from family and friends and facing a language barrier were all things she had to overcome but did.
“I started making friends, and my team was very nice to me,” Donarski said. “There were lots of fun things to do.”
She grew to like the food and enjoy visiting local museums in the Budapest area. River sight-seeing cruises also became a favorite.
“You’d go out on a boat for an hour or an hour-and-a-half, and it would take you through Budapest at night,” she said. “The Buda Castle and (Hungarian) parliament building are super well-lit, and that was cool to see. I think I did three of those.”
Donarski now leaves for Spain near the end of August. She hasn’t yet researched the area extensively, but she knows the basketball will be a bigger challenge, and she will attack that with a new cast of characters.
“It will definitely be a step up from where I was last year,” Donarski said, “but I’m excited to play in a new country and meet my new teammates and coaches.”
