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Interactive News by Email Hoopchat Frequently Asked Questions Blocker Guy seeks Stateside respect
Mark Woods
Respect on the basketball courts of America does not come easy. It has to be earned. Hence when Kieran Achara traded Falkirk for the hardwood of Pittsburgh last summer, he had to prove to the other kids against whom he was playing that, to steal a phrase, Scotsmen can jump too.
"Scotland", the Americans called him. No informal tag, no buddy slang. Simply a blandishment to suggest to the foreign interloper that he had taken the wrong turn on the way to the soccer field.
Invitations to the Five Star Camp do not come cheap. Or easy.
But Achara, a 17 year old prodigy who combines studying for his Highers with training and playing for the Clark Eriksson Fury club in Falkirk, had to demonstrate his standing among some of the best teenage talents in the sport.
And that he emphatically managed, a series of blocks here, a fistful of points there, enough to merit a spot in the camp's All-Star selection and, most significantly of all, a more affirmative tag from his no longer sceptical contemporaries.
"I think I got respect when we reached the play-offs and I was blocking a series of their shots. After that I was called 'The Blocker Guy'," he relates.
"They were thinking I wasn't a proper player which cheesed me off. It took me a few days to get used to the way they play there ... They're much more aggressive but I adapted quite quickly. It's life to them whereas it's just a hobby in Scotland."
Being 6'9" and growing is not without its problems: "I'm still interested in football but it's impossible to find boots in my size (14)"," he reveals. "With my height I do get a lot of comments but I'm used to it now."
Clearly it has an upside.
Once this season, while turning out for Falkirk's Under 18 squad, Achara fired up 60 points in a single contest (remarkably, it wasn't even the game's top score).
However it is the senior Fury side which have grasped the plaudits, steamrolling their way with Achara's help to a first Scottish League title and compiling a record which will remain unblemished should they take victory in their final fixture next weekend.
Pitted against men twice his age, the youthful combatant is not intimidated. His lithe frame twists and weaves through - and over - opponents, credit for which he offers to Fury's coach John Bunyan.
"John's worked on my game this year, playing me at point guard, dribbling the ball to improve my all-round game before I go to the States. I'm not just seen as a centre which has helped make me ready for the step up. I've had to work on my overall game. I go to training on Monday's and just shoot, shoot, shoot. Not all coaches would let you do that."
This summer Achara plans to return to the United States but this time, he will stick around. The Stirling-born hopeful will take an American-style education but, admirably, is patient enough to bide his time in school despite immediate interest from a handful of college recruiters.
"Most of my offers have been from universities but I really want to play a year at high school to adapt myself properly. If I'd jumped into university, it would be in at the deep end and I don’t think I'm ready for that yet."
Yet it has proved an onerous task. Famously, Londoner Michael Olowokandi once opened a handbook of US institutions at a random page, dialled up and was immediately accepted. Three years later, he became the top draft pick of the NBA. No such bizarre fortune has blessed Achara so far but he is resolute in his ambition.
Positive soundings returned this week from Boston, a request made for video tapes of the Scot in action which will be screened to high school coaches eager to unearth a star in the making.
"I'd love to go to Florida, somewhere hot," Achara jokes. "(Former Rocks coach) Jim Brandon is based there and he's also looking out for me. I've had John really working hard to make contacts for me with schools but some of them don’t believe I'm as good as they say I am. That's why we're trying to get videos made up now.
"I'd love to play for my country but I'd rather go to America and then come back and play then. Staying here and going to university here wouldn’t improve me."
He concludes: "As my mother said, 'you've got a talent so why not use it?' So I will."
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