AUBURN — It’s easy to assume that a court contained within a space the size of high school gymnasium in Latvia is light years from the white-hot spotlight of the NBA.

Let’s put Troy Barnies’ latest move up the basketball ladder into a different perspective, however.

Within the past week, Barnies signed a contract as the prospective replacement for a player whose draft rights are owned by the Memphis Grizzlies.

“The dream is still alive,” Barnies said.

Alive and achieving more realism with each passing year. The 25-year-old Barnies will return to his home-away-from-home in August as a member of BK Ventspils, the top team in the country.

It is a two-year deal that gives Barnies an option year, furnishing the chance to buy out his own contract if he is signed or drafted to a higher level.

“Near the end of the season, they approached me about wanting to sign me, but it was a one-year deal and my agent said we should wait,” Barnies said. “Then we played them in the semifinal round of the playoffs and it gave me a chance to prove myself.

“It’s rare for an American to get a multi-year contract. That stability is huge. It’s the biggest step up in my career.”

Barnies, a former Maine Mr. Basketball at Edward Little and four-year starter at the University of Maine, enters his fourth professional season in Europe.

He spent one year in Turkey and another in Finland before joining BK Jekapbils in Latvia for the 2013-14 campaign. Barnies averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds in Latvia League competition and stepped it up to 17.5 points and 8 boards against Baltic League opponents.

Jekapbils finished third place overall. It was a grind that included well over 50 games and occupied nearly 10 months, from training camp through the playoffs.

“It’s the longest I’ve been over there,” Barnies said. “Turkey was seven months. Finland was eight. My summer vacation isn’t really a vacation.”

Barnies expects to step in for Janis Timma, a second-round pick of the Grizzlies who also moved to a new team in Europe.

“The minutes are mine already,” Barnies said. “I probably won’t be averaging 15 to 17 points. I’m expecting to battle for 10 to 12. I’m going to try to be the man for this team, but I won’t be expecting it right away.”

His campaign with Jekabpils was a relatively healthy one, although Barnies said he will see a specialist this summer for assessment of a nagging thumb injury.

Coincidentally, that wound may have been what solidified Barnies’ new deal. The thumb was dislocated during the first half of a playoff game against Ventspils.

“Before the second half I taped it up and said, “(Expletive) it, I’m going to play.’ The GM came up to me after and said, ‘You’re a tough son of a (gun). We need you on our team.’ The GM wanted me, the coach wanted me and the president wanted me,” Barnies said. “That’s what makes it nice.”

Barnies acknowledged some culture shock and anxiety at each stop on his European journey.

Fear has given way to focus, though.

“I’ve gotten used to being away from home,” he said. “I don’t feel homesick like I used to. I’m really zeroed in. I live there more months out of the year than I live at home. It’s my job, and I love it.”

During his abbreviated summer, Barnies will be a frequent visitor to the places where it all started.

He will serve as an instructor at both the University of Maine Camp in Orono and Hoop Camp in Casco. His daily ritual includes weight lifting sessions with EL coach and longtime mentor Mike Adams.

“I’m fortunate that Edward Little lets me use the gym and weight room all summer,” he said.

Then it’s back to Latvia, where Barnies says most people know at least some English. They’re rabid basketball fans, as evidenced by the sound on the webcasts watched so closely by family and friends.

Barnies wants to coach at the collegiate level when he retires. This week’s announcement makes it clear that transition is a long way off.

“I’m not planning on that for a while,” he said. “This team is watched by NBA teams, which is great.”

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