Former Kansas University basketball guard Brady Morningstar will begin his professional career on the Greek Island of Crete, fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

The 6-foot-4 Lawrence native announced Sunday that he’d reached agreement on a one-year contract with A.G.O. Rethymno, which plays in Greece’s top league. Terms were not disclosed. Morningstar’s new team reached the finals of the Greek Cup in 2006-07.

“I’m excited to start a new chapter of basketball in my life,” the former Free State High standout said. “In terms of standard of living, I think it’s a great place to play. Until I go over there, I won’t know exactly what the competition is like. Right now, I’m excited for a new journey.”

Morningstar, 25, averaged 7.1 points, 3.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds a game last season for KU (35-3).

Will he miss KU and the fans?

“Always, always,” he said. “There’s so much love and so much support.”

Cookout

Athletes from all of KU’s sports teams attended a welcome-back-to-school barbecue Sunday night at Memorial Stadium. The barbecue was sponsored by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  

“This is just a way to get everyone back together and see the new faces,” KU senior softball player Kelsey Alsdorf said. “I really like getting to see all the new people and getting see my teammates again. The food is always a nice thing, too.”

“The atmosphere here is great because everybody is back and everyone is excited for their seasons to get started,” said senior cross country runner Rebeka Stowe. “This is a great way to get caught up with teammates and friends that were all over the country this summer. It’s a lot of fun.”

The 2011-12 school year begins today at KU.

Recruiting

Dillon Graham, a 6-4 senior shooting guard from First Academy in Orlando, Fla., took unofficial visits to Florida, Florida State and Central Florida last week. He also has KU, Maryland, Georgia, Louisville, Vanderbilt and others on his list.

He averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists a game his junior season, then having a big summer for his AAU team, the Florida Rams.

“I was supposed to make a visit to Kansas in October but I don’t know if I’m going to do that yet. If I do that I will probably move it to a week or so from now because I want to get my decision out of the way,” Graham told warchant.com. “With the commitment I would say it’s going to be pretty soon because I’m tired of all of this so I don’t really want it to drag out anymore.”