Brian Urso thought he was playing his final organized competitive basketball game when he put on his Point Park uniform on Senior Day this past February.

"I figured it was time to hang up the shoes," he said. "Time to go work."

But that was a couple months before he discovered the Pittsburgh Phantoms, the district's newest professional basketball team. He sent them tapes of his college career and showed up at the tryout.

"We liked what we saw," said Bill Miller, the team's owner and general manager. "He was the kind of player we were looking for."

Urso, 23, who earned a degree this spring, will be a substitute teacher in the Fox Chapel Area School District during the day this fall and winter and a professional basketball player at night.

"Our players will keep their regular jobs," Miller said. "The league has a $120,000 salary cap per team, but most of the teams don't spend half that much. The average pay is $100 a game for 30 games. The players in this league are looking to be seen and maybe sign a contract to play overseas."

The Phantoms will compete in the American Basketball Association's North Central Division and have a 30-game schedule that begins Dec. 5 against Youngstown and runs through March.

They will play their home games at the Court Time Sports Center in Elizabeth that has a seating capacity of approximately 1,000. The coach will be John Ashaolu, the older brother of Sam, who was shot after a dance on the campus of Duquesne University in September, 2006 and never played for the Dukes.

Urso was impressed with the caliber of player at the Phantoms tryout.

"It was a really competitive group," said Urso, who hopes to add about 5 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame by the time camp opens in October. "They were really athletic, quick and could score from anywhere. I'm going to do what I can to compete with them."

He added after a pause, "I can shoot with them."

Urso, a graduate of Fox Chapel Area High School, said he improved his shooting dramatically at Westminster, where the Titans scored points in a hurry and relied on the 3-pointer.

"I started shooting, shooting and shooting 3-pointers," he said. "I'm really confident in it [my shot]."

Urso played two seasons at Westminster before he transferred to Point Park, where he started the first 15 or 16 games of his senior season and then his playing time decreased the second half of the season when did his student teaching. He averaged seven points per game.

"If I can match my ballhandling with my shooting, I'll be OK," he said. "I'm grateful for what I have, and I'm going for it. I know I have to handle the ball better to become more of a point guard. I'll work hard enough, that's always been my strongest point."

Urso's head isn't filled with visions of one day playing in the NBA.

"I have a pure love for the game of basketball, that's why I'm playing," he said. "If it gets me a further career, I'll be up for it. I'm OK for playing for the love of it. I've been playing basketball since I was 4, so the idea of playing on the next level is a dream in itself."

Urso has received a lot of support form his father, Ben, who also played at Point Park.

"He tells me to play as long as you can because it's over once you stop," he said. "It goes quick. I have a love, a passion for the game so it's not work for me. I can work the rest of my life."