GBR/ESP – Unicaja Malaga’s Archibald, Britain closing in on Olympic appearance
VALENCIA (ACB/2012 London Olympics) – There is a very good chance that if you travelled from the north of Scotland to the bottom of England, few people would know the name Robert Archibald.
That’s because Archibald, a Scot, doesn’t play football, rugby or cricket, but basketball.
And basketball receives very little media attention in the United Kingdom.
So for those in the UK who don't know who the 31-year-old is, Archibald left Scotland for America to play high school hoops and then spent four years in the vaunted Big Ten Conference playing college basketball for Illinois.
He spent his first two professional seasons in the NBA and was on the books of the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic.
It’s back home in Europe, though, where Archibald has established a reputation as a solid center.
If people don't know Archibald in his homeland, rest assured a lot of people in basketball-mad Spain and all over Europe do because just as he played in front of huge crowds in the United States, he does the same in the ACB and Euroleague.
Nothing is going to compare, though, to the crowd he will encounter next year when he puts on a Team GB suit and walks into the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremonies at the London Games.
"I did something similar with the World University Games but obviously, it's not even close,” Archibald said to FIBA.com.
“The Olympics is the pinnacle of sports so to get a chance to participate is great.
“Hopefully we'll put on a good show and see what happens."
It’s been several weeks since Archibald, his Great Britain teammates and coaches learned that the FIBA Central Board had voted to allow the men’s and women’s teams to take up the spots normally reserved for host nations.
Basketball’s world governing body had announced when London was awarded the Olympics that they wanted to be sure that Britain would put competitive teams on the floor, and also have a structure in place in the country that would ensure the sport could grow.
There was a great unease in Britain about what the FIBA vote would be.
"Being on the other side of it was very uncomfortable,” Archibald said, “but it's tough because I can certainly agree with FIBA in that I'd like to see the domestic game in Britain improve and not just a little bit.
“It's sad to see that we can't make some steps forward to be more competitive within Europe and having a more solid league and solid structure for our young players to develop."
This season’s Euroleague, Eurocup and EuroChallenge competitions had no British teams, but just Britons like Archibald playing for clubs in other countries.
There has been a lot of success with Britain’s national teams in recent times, but the domestic league is not strong.
The most talented young players have continued to leave the country, too, because their best chance of developing is to go abroad.
Archibald doesn’t think it’s wrong to believe that one day Britain could have a strong league, and keep the talent in the country as happens in Spain, for example.
"No, I think you have to hope,” he said.
“There is a big opportunity with the 2012 stuff and hopefully it will continue to provide outlets and opportunities for kids so that one day these top prospects that are coming up will have a chance to stay in Britain and develop that way."
There is cause for optimism.
"Certainly,” Archibald said. “We're still producing young players with talent.
“Unfortunately most of them end up having to go to college in the States or come to Spain to get a real chance to develop.
"But hopefully with some of this Olympic stuff will come some improvements within the domestic game."
Getting Ready For London
In 2009, Archibald travelled to Poland for the EuroBasket with Britain and experienced life in a group of death that included Spain, Serbia and Slovenia – three sides that reached the Semi-Finals of the competition and qualified for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
The Brits did not, however, after losing to each of those sides.
They had to go back into qualifying just to play at this year’s EuroBasket in Lithuania.
The Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng, who was injured and didn’t play in Poland, returned to the fold last summer and helped the Brits win their qualifying group.
Once again, though, Britain find themselves in a very tough pool.
In the 24-team tournament, Britain will be in Group A with Spain, Turkey, Lithuania, Poland and an additional qualifier.
"That's a lot of easy games for us,” Archibald said with a laugh.
“It's very difficult, but it's also going to be a chance to see where we're at and what we need to change before the next summer because it's not going to get any easier when the Olympics come around.”
Since playing in EuroBasket Division B and winning promotion, everything for Britain has been a learning experience.
Other than the difficult summer of 2009, the team has more than held its own against all teams.
Even two years ago at the EuroBasket, Britain almost upset Spain and the Spaniards were the defending world champions at the time.
While the ultimate aim is be ready for London, this year’s EuroBasket is hugely significant for Britain.
"Yes,” Archibald said. “I think it's important to use this summer to get some preparation with the guys that we'll have together for next summer, get some time together.
"A lot of the teams we are going to end up running against are going to have five to 10 years, maybe more, of playing together so that will be a challenge for us. But hopefully we'll be able to build some chemistry and take that into next summer.”
Unicaja Malaga
For now, Archibald and Unicaja are pulling out all stops to secure a place in the play-offs.
The year started with one of Spain’s most successful coaches, Aito Garcia Reneses, at the helm of Unicaja but the club and coach went separate ways and Fuenlabrada’s highly-rated assistant and a coach with Spain boss Sergio Scariolo, Chus Matteo, took over.
"He's done very well with us,” Archibald said.
“We work hard.
“We're well prepared and the results have certainly been better.
"We had a lot of trouble earlier in the year.
“I feel like we're getting back on track.”
Archibald, who was giving this interview after Unicaja lost 73-71 at Power Electronics Valencia on Sunday night to fall to eighth in the standings, said: “This was another game we tried to win on the road and we can't quite seem to get over the hump.
“We're going to have to keep fighting, correct some of the mistakes.
“We have two very important road games and one at home. Hopefully we can pick up a win.”
If Unicaja can seal a place in the post-season, they could be dangerous.
Last year, the club upset Valencia in the first round.
"The first step is getting there,” Archibald said.
“That's really all we're thinking about right now.
“I feel like we're close to being able to compete with the top teams and hopefully once we get there (to the play-offs), we can start thinking about that."
