Canadian Achonwa takes her game to new territory

By Devin Gray

Natalie Achonwa has never been so busy.

The Canadian forward is a promising newcomer for Dike Basket Napoli in Italy’s Serie A1, latest stop in a roundabout basketball career that’s yielded two gold medals and brought her within one game of the WNBA title. It’s Achonwa’s first season of overseas basketball and the start of a brand new, round-the-clock cycle in her pro career – WNBA and international duty with Canada in the summer, Euroleague in the winter.

“That is reality for us. Playing overseas is how we make a living,” says Achonwa. “Whether we are going into a qualifier summer, a World Championship summer, or an Olympic summer, it is what we have to do.

“Playing year-round is the hardest part about women's professional basketball. While playing overseas, my challenge has been trying to find a balance between ‘off-season training’ and ‘in-season competition’."

That’s going to become a trying grind at some point, but for now Achonwa’s just happy to be back on the court, after having it all taken away from her. She tore her ACL at the end of her senior season with undefeated Notre Dame,cutting short her fourth trip to the 2014 NCAA Final Four.

“I had my knee surgery April 18th, 2014, and rehabbed at Notre Dame through the summer,” she says. “It’s been one busy, busy year and it’s gone by fast.”

Now the 23-year-old is overseas in Naples to continue her basketball development and cash in on her hard work. (With no salary-cap constraints, European teams can offer contracts that aremuch more lucrative than in the WNBA, sometimes six times as much money.)

“I wouldn’t say I’m 100 per cent,” Achonwa says of her conditioning. “Physically and structurally I’m 100 per cent but in terms of being back to my game and back to where I want to be physically and on-court, it’s going to be an ongoing thing not just to return but to be an efficient pro.”

Achonwa has worked with mentors like Canadian teammate Kim Gaucher and Tamika Catchings in Indiana. Now the Guelph, Ont., native says she is not content to merely return, but also reinvent the way she trains to be able to play consistently at a high level for years to come.

After missing what would have been her rookie season, Achonwa returned this year to lead all WNBA rookies in field goal percentage (55 per cent) in 28 games for Indiana while splitting her time with Team Canada. She averaged 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie team, and came within a miracle shot by Lynx star guard Maya Moore of becoming the first Canadian to win Pan Am and FIBA gold and a WNBA title in the same year.

With a Canada senior team she’s been a part of since age 16, Achonwa now serves as a “young vet,” leading players like Kia Nurse into the national conversation as the side’s successes pile up. Once regarded as the future of Canadian basketball, she’s become one of its cornerstones.

“I always love playing with Canada,” says Achonwa. “It’s a totally different vibe from the type of basketball and the people you surround yourself with.”

Without her, Canada finished fifth at the 2014 FIBA World Championships. Herreturn, coupled with the combined experience of a veteran team, spurred a double-gold summer with tournament wins at the Pan Am Games and FIBA Americas, and ensured a Rio 2016 Olympic berth.

“We’re so excited to have her back and in the fold,” Canadian head coach Lisa Thomaidis says of Achonwa. “She has such a great presence, just her basketball IQ. She brings a lot to the table.”

Canada finished eighth at the 2012 London Olympic tournament, the program’s best finish ever. The team has much higher expectations for 2016.

“We qualified two weeks before the 2012 Olympics on Canada Day and were still riding that same high of being one of the last teams to qualify and head straight to London,” Achonwa recalls. “This time we’ve qualified over a year in advance so we have a lot of time to prepare and we’re heading there thinking sponsorship, and media, and medals instead of just being happy that we’re there.”

Hosting and winning domestic competitions in Toronto and Edmonton opened the eyes of fans and corporate supporters, much like what the Christine Sinclair-led women’s soccer team saw in the lead-up to this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

“To be able to have significant games on home soil you’re able to get that fan support and show young women that there are female athletes like Kim Gaucher that you can aspire to be,” says Achonwa. “[Former head coach] Allison McNeill used to say the women’s national team is the best-kept secret in Canada and we’re yelling from rooftops now, we don’t want to be a secret anymore.”

The same might be said for Achonwa as she broadens her professional horizons, lengthens her working year -- and perhaps one of these days, gets to where she wants to be.