As Christopher Moran knows, life can take you to some unexpected places.

For Moran, a 2012 Whitehall graduate, basketball was the key to opening a door that he may have never considered a year ago. So when he was faced with the decision of playing professional basketball in a foreign country, he decided to take that journey and see where it would lead him. If he balked, that chance may never come around again.

“You just need to be prepared when the opportunity presents itself,” said Moran from his apartment in Mexico where he was winding down after an afternoon practice.

Moran plays for Garrobos Minatitlan. Garrobos Minatitlan is a member of the Libassur Liga de Basquetbol Sur Sureste. Garrobos means Iguana (or large lizard) and Minatitaln is a city in the southeastern Mexican state of Veracruz.

Moran’s opportunity came in the beginning of September when he attended a tryout in Niagra Falls, N.Y. hosted by the American Basketball Association (founded 1999). Moran said that it was a two-day tryout with about 30 players participating.

Someone in attendance noticed Moran and believed his ability would be a better fit somewhere else. An agent pulled Moran aside and told him that he envisioned him playing for a team he owned in Mexico.

“He loved what I did at the tryout,” said Moran. “He also said that he had a job opportunity for me in Mexico.”

That team was Garrobos Minititlan and Moran said that he was contacted the next day with the offer. However, the suddenness took him by surprise.

“He said that you have to leave in a week,” said Moran.

Moran talked it over with his family, and that’s when he decided to make the journey to Mexico, realizing that this opportunity may never present itself again.

He would be leaving Sept. 21 and coming home to visit would be virtually impossible during the season. That season runs from August through December. He knew that leaving his family would be difficult.

“My Mom’s my biggest supporter,” said Moran. “She obviously supported me, but I knew I had to make some tough decisions.”

Moran would be immersed in a new culture surrounded by people who spoke a different language, including some of his teammates. While his father was born in Puerto Rico, and his mother, who was born in New York, is also Puerto Rican, Moran didn’t speak Spanish. He has a working understanding of the language, but he never became fluent.

Moran said that he’s not the only player from the U.S. One of his teammates is from Utah and they’ve established a close friendship.

The league features six teams and Garrobos Minititlan is in the middle of the pack with a 6-12 record. Moran arrived with the season underway and has made an immediate impact. They won four of five after his arrival. They also just recently qualified for the playoffs.

Moran played collegiately at Delaware Valley University, a Division III school in Doylestown. He had an outstanding college career, finishing with 1,337 points which ranks him 10th all-time in school history. He was also second in blocked shots with 125 and fifth in rebounds with 779.

Moran’s senior season came with the league’s highest honor, earning the Middle Atlantic Conference (Freedom Conference) Player of the Year. That was after averaging 19.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. He was also the conference tournament’s Most Valuable Player in 2016.

Moran, who was Whitehall’s leading scorer his senior season averaging 14.9 point per game, truly blossomed in college. He said that playing for head coach Casey Stitzel taught him some valuable lessons. Stitzel told him that the game was bigger than just one player and when they won, it lifted the whole team.

His experience before finding a home at DelVal left him with a bad taste in his mouth since he wasn’t courted by any big schools.

“I always had a chip on my shoulder,” said Moran.

Once he arrived, he learned he needed to work as much as he could on his game.

That hard work paid off with the hardware he received his senior season as the Freedom Conference’s best player as well as the tournament MVP.

Moran wasn’t sure what the future was going to hold, and when his friend suggested they head to Niagra Falls, he took the trek north. He didn’t want to abandon his dream of playing basketball, but the he knew that getting further with his professional aspirations meant having the right connections.

“The journey was crazy and I almost gave up,” said Moran.

Moran is currently the team’s shooting guard and has learned that the crowd loves to see a dunk. It energizes both the fans and the team.

“That’s a big thing,” said Moran. “You get a lot of oohs and aahs when that happens.”

In college he was a forward, but now with his pro team he has the ball in his hands a lot more as a playmaker. He said it’s been a work in progress.

“I found it really hard to transition my game,” Moran said. “I’ve really been working on my game.”

It’s often rare that someone gets to do something they love, and Moran is relishing in his role as a pro basketball player.

“I’m having a lot of fun,” said Moran. I have the opportunity to play pro ball. It’s just a blessing. I’m just taking it all in. It’s been a humbling experience.”

And when the next opportunity presents itself, Moran said he’ll be ready to make the most of that moment.