ACHARA READY FOR NEW ROCKY ROAD

Only a few minutes after completing the last game of a gruelling EuroBasket 2017 qualifying campaign, Great Britain captain Kieron Achara was already having to switch modes from national team to club side.

Despite losing their group finale in Luxembourg, Great Britain had secured a berth at next year’s finals, but there would be little time for Achara to celebrate.

“I’m back [in Glasgow]tomorrow,” he said after the game on Saturday, “we’ve got practice on Monday!”

With EuroBasket qualifying going on at the same time as the Rocks’ pre-season, it means Achara and fellow Rocks’ team-mate Gareth Murray have less than a week to get acclimatised with their new team-mates.

“It’s been a strange one,” Achara admitted.

“I’ve kept in touch with Sterling [Davis], our GM and I also talked to some of the guys coming in; Neil Watson and so forth.

“The experience that Gareth and myself got here with GB, we can take it back with us and hopefully help some of the younger guys on the Rocks.”

The Rocks get their season underway on Sunday in Manchester and for now, Achara is not setting any targets.

“I’m not putting that pressure on my guys,” he said. “My focus right now is really to make sure we’re playing great basketball.

“I believe if we’re playing great basketball, everything else will take care of itself.”

Achara added, “I felt we improved as last season went on and we were unfortunate against Sheffield in the home leg of the Play-Offs.

“That really cost us, but it’s a learning experience.

“We want to make the Rocks a powerhouse in the BBL and I know it’s going to take a lot of work but I feel with the experience we have and the group of guys we have in this year, we can make some noise.

“We’re now focused on improving and making sure we play some great team basketball, and the sky’s the limit if we do that.”