'Then and Now' is a series that focuses on former Treasure Valley high school athletes and where they’re at now.

Kyle Dranginis doesn't like to talk.

The former Skyview High School boys basketball star purposely took long showers to get out of talking with the media at Gonzaga. But Dranginis, 27, loves to play — something he's still doing all these years later.

He just wrapped his fourth season playing professional basketball overseas — the third with the ROMERSTROM Gladiators Trier where he’s their starting shooting guard.

"I remember my first year of coaching thinking, 'Kyle might be the best player that I'm ever going to coach,'" Skyview coach Aaron Sanders said. "There's a lot of great players all around the state that I've been able to see, but I would pick Kyle over anybody. The proof is in the pudding with the success he's had after. How many kids have played and started at the (Division I) level? How many have played on a nationally ranked team? And how many are still playing professionally? I can't think of any."

The son of a basketball coach and the youngest of four kids, who were all college stars in their own right, Dranginis followed suit.

Sanders heard rumblings of this kid from South Middle School. He saw it for himself when Dranginis was in sixth grade. Dranginis did a shootaround while waiting for his older sisters to finish practice. Sanders was so impressed he invited him to play with the varsity team during a tournament that summer.

Three short years later, Dranginis hit the game-winning shot against Emmett in the 4A District III championship game. A state title came the following season.

As just a sophomore, Dranginis anchored the 2008-09 team to a perfect season. The Hawks won three state overtime games in as many days, including a 59-58 victory over Pocatello in the final. Dranginis drained a floater with 21 seconds left.

Dranginis went on to be a three-time Southern Idaho Conference Player of the Year and a two-time Gatorade Idaho Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

So, naturally, colleges like Notre Dame, and of course Gonzaga, were interested.

"During the whole recruiting process, coaches would call me and be like, 'Hey, we can't call Kyle, but you tell him that he can call us because we want to talk to him,'" Sanders said. "Most high school kids would instantly give Notre Dame and Gonzaga a call, but not Kyle."

He eventually got around to it. Dranginis obviously chose the Zags, who he had followed closely his whole life.

Adam Morrison, the third overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft, was his guy.

Dranginis started 34 games in the unmistakable white and blue uniforms. He averaged 6.5 points on 43.5% shooting to go along with 4.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for his career. Dranginis was a part of four NCAA Tournament teams, including going to the Elite Eight in 2015. He was also an Academic All-American and had the 15th-best assist-to-turnover ratio (3.14) in the country his senior year. When Dranginis left Spokane, he was tied for the most career wins (122) in school history.

"It was an honor for sure," Dranginis said. "I probably could have gone somewhere else where I could have played a lot more and had good solid stats. But I wanted to be part of a winning culture and winning program and do things that other programs really don't get the opportunity to do. It was one of the most fun times of my life. So I have absolutely no regrets about it."

He signed his first professional contract with SISU Copenhagen of the top league in Denmark in September 2016. Dranginis averaged 14.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists a game to lead the team to the league semifinals and was named to the Danish Team of the Year.

Dranginis then signed with the Gladiators Trier in Germany’s second division in May 2017 and has been there ever since.

"You figure out if you actually love the game or not when you go overseas," Dranginis said. "There's different lifestyles, being home sick and all that kind of stuff. I'm not making NBA money at all. But a lot of people don't get to say they play in different countries and play basketball for their job. So it's fun for me.

"I know I don't have many years left, so I'm just trying to enjoy and take in all the experiences while I can."

But this season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dranginis played his final game on March 8. Three days later, the season was canceled. He got one of the final flights back to the United States on March 21 before travel bans were put into place.

Dranginis is currently in the middle of a 14-day self-quarantine at his grandfather’s house in Meridian.

"A lot of movies and FIFA," Dranginis said while laughing. "I was a little bummed out at first. But then I quickly realized that life is bigger than basketball. I'm thankful that my family and everyone I know is healthy so far. That's what matters."

Dranginis is looking forward to resuming his career once the COVID-19 crisis has passed. Well, the playing part at least.

"I'm not going to go out and search for interviews," Dranginis quipped.