Former Spearfish High School and Montana University basketball standout Matt Martin has signed a contract to play professional basketball in Great Britain.

Martin, who collected a state title with the Spartans in 2002 and was a four-year letterwinner for the Grizzlies at Missoula, will play for the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders of the British Basketball Leage.

"Matt is a multi-talented guard who over his four-year career at Montana was able to excel at both guard positions," said Riders coach Rob Paternostro in a team new release. "I think he has the type of game our fans will really enjoy watching. Montana is a solid Division I team, and he helped them reach the NCAA Tournament twice. Everyone I spoke with had great things to say about his competitive nature, so I think he'll be a great fit for us. I'm looking forward to working with Matt both on and off the floor."

The 12-team BBL is the elite league in England. The Riders are located in Leicester, a city of 400,000 and a 45-minute train ride northwest of London. The season runs from September through the spring.

"I am very excited to have this opportunity to play professional basketball in the BBL, the top league in England," Martin said in an e-mail. "I believe this team's style will be a great fit for me. I really enjoyed speaking with my new coach and general manager over the phone. I am excited for the future and can't wait to get started. I want to tell everyone thanks in Griz Country for all the support my last four years. I will miss Montana and will be following the Griz closely."

Martin, 23, of Spearfish, is a recent graduate of Montana. He played for the Grizzlies from 2004-08. He finished his career ranked 23rd in school history with 1,021 career points, while his 214 career 3-pointers are the second-most at UM and rank him seventh in the Big Sky Conference. He is 10th in school history with 317 career assists and played in 122 career games. He was ranked among the Big Sky's top 3-point shooters and assists leaders all four of his seasons at Montana.

As a senior, Martin was UM's third-leading scorer (10.9 ppg) and served as one of the team's captains. His junior season he was the team's fifth-leading scorer and one of four players who played in all 32 games. His sophomore year he saw action in 31 games. He scored 11 points in a 69-56 second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Boston College. His freshman year he started in 26 games and scored 15 points in an 88-77 loss to Washington in the NCAA Tournament first-round game.