In the ancient French city where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431, Derrick Low will try to kick start his pro basketball career today.

Low, a 2004 'Iolani School graduate and former three-time Advertiser State Player of the Year from Honolulu, signed a contract Friday to play for Rouen in France's "Pro A" league.

Low left Honolulu at 8 a.m. yesterday for Los Angeles, where he was to catch a flight to Amsterdam and then to Rouen, a metropolitan city on the Seine River in Normandy.

Rouen's next game is Saturday.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed, but Low's father, Ken, said it includes free housing and transportation.

Low was in transit yesterday and not available for comment.

Low, a 6-foot-2 guard, joined the Sydney Spirit of the Australian Basketball League in August and was the ABL's third-leading scorer before the team's owners could not meet financial obligations in mid-November. Low returned to Honolulu shortly afterward and had been training on his own.

Low was an undrafted NBA free agent after a standout career at Washington State University and played on the Dallas Mavericks' summer league team in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.

Ken Low said Rouen plans to play his son at point guard, as opposed to the "combo guard" role he had played in Australia.

"What he needs now is a platform (for the NBA)," Ken Low said, "and this is a good start."

Read his blog on high school sports at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com