MEECH SPEAKS
11/26/2009
The term "legend" is used far too readily in sports today - but in terms of British basketball, if anyone fits this description it is John Amaechi.
The first Brit to make an impact in the NBA, Amaechi built on his legacy nine years ago, when he formed his own basketball centre of excellence in his home town of Manchester. The most successful of its kind in this country, the centre has since sent nearly 50 youngsters to scholarships in the US and the professionals in Europe.
And now, as an ambassador for the London 2012 Olympic bid, he holds a place on the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) Diversity Board where he is determined to follow up the concerns he raised last month about the bid team’s legacy promises.
"Fundamentally there is a difference between what I see as legacy and what other people are imagining is legacy," said the 38 year-old.
"I recognise that we are going to have some remarkable buildings and landscaping in East London but that is not what I see as legacy, there aren’t many poor families who are going to be playing football or basketball at The O2 anytime soon.
"However, LOCOG makes a very good point in that it shouldn't be their job to put in place infrastructure for development; that is the job of organisations such as Sport England.
"Outside of swimming, where great efforts have been made to make it more accessible there isn't an easy, high quality pathway available to kids if they want to progress after watching say basketball or handball at the Olympics and getting excited about it".
In Amaechi’s eyes, one of the reasons it is so difficult for kids to progress is because the current centres of excellence are not always all they are made out to be.
"It needs to be standardised, it is very easy to call yourself a centre of excellence and very difficult to be a centre of excellence," he said.
"It could be done through colleges and universities but if they are going to be part of a pathway of excellence they need to meet certain criteria and it isn't just about having a level one, two or three coaching credential."
Another troublesome step on this pathway Amaechi highlights, is the current level of the domestic game.
"It's an absolute fallacy to pretend the BBL is where you go next. Barring one or two places, they don't even have development programmes," added the former EuroLeague winner.
"There is no particular glee in me saying this because for all my faults one thing British basketball players know is that I am on their side. I want them to have a place where they can see at the top of the tree potential for a career in basketball and I don't think the BBL has ever provided that for British players.
"We have a league that is still predominantly American and they are not even high quality Americans for the most part."
Amaechi is attempting to remedy this problem in his role as Director of Player Personnel and Grassroots Basketball for the British Basketball Association, a franchise hoping to become the focus of elite basketball in this country.
"For the BBA it is almost irrelevant what is going on here right now in terms of top level basketball. We aim to offer the best possible premier basketball in the country, regardless of what else is or isn't going on," he said.
During the London leg of October’s NBA EuropeLive event BBA officials met with their American counterparts and reached "some really positive outcomes" but the ambitious organisation are not stopping there.
"It is helpful that this organisation is connected and has people involved who are NBA investors and owners, as well as myself, who was involved as a player,” said the veteran of four NBA teams.
"But we are also having the same high level meetings with certain European characters. After all England is Europe and we have to be able to learn lessons from anywhere we can take them."
While in London, NBA Commissioner David Stern also revealed that the NBA are developing the idea of a London-based NBA franchise, a proposal Amaechi fully supports.
"There is no way you look at that and say it is bad for basketball," said the NBA Hall of Famer.
"I don't think it would dominate the domestic scene but it would be a tremendous thing to have as well as the domestic scene."
But while this could provide some much needed media attention for the sport, the former Commonwealth bronze medallist believes the fact remains that there is not enough young, British talent being nurtured on these shores.
"We've got a tremendous amount of physical talent but we are missing players who have come through a programme and end up being polished, competent players," said Amaechi.
"We are losing generations' worth of players because it is too expensive for them to play and it is hard to find a really competent coach."
But in Chris Finch, Team GB believe they have such a coach and all involved will be hoping this is the case, because as Amaechi points out, a lot rests on his team’s performance in 2012.
"The question that hasn’t been asked and basketball fans should be asking is, what is going to happen to British basketball after 2012?
"The way UK Sport works, funding for the next year is contingent on medal success and however good the British basketball team gets it is unlikely they are looking at a medal in the first Olympics they compete in.
"I am hopeful and I will support them all the way but pragmatically it is unlikely, so that would mean a massive cut in funds. It would mean issues like Luol Deng’s insurance becomes out of reach and that completely changes the landscape."
That being said, with just less than 1000 days to go until the start of the games a medal is not completely out of reach.
But while that feat would surely see Luol and co. hailed as 'legends', their real legacy would lie in the next generation of UK ballers who picked up a ball after watching the 2012 games and were then able to progress through a standardised, well funded pathway of excellence.
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