Ali secures coveted scholarship
STANDING at 6ft 10in tall, 18-year-old Alistair Mackay has always been head and shoulders above his basketball buddies.
But now the North Berwick teenager is quite literally towering above the rest - after securing a prestigious five-year basketball scholarship in America, worth $225,000.Mackay, of St Baldred's Road, will travel to Davidson College in North Carolina next month to take up residence at the Division 1 university, where he will study while sharpening his skills in the country's college basketball leagues.
The talented teen has already been making big noises this side of the pond, having secured a place in the Great Britain under-20 team, with whom he is competing this week at the European Championships in Austria.
The former Edinburgh Kings centre is also a fully-fledged senior player for his country, and represented Scotland at every age group throughout his school days.
Now former North Berwick High pupil Mackay will live the American dream on a course which is "very hard to come by", according to mum Rhona.
"They will pay for his education," she said.
"To go there costs $45,000 a year and they're paying for him to be there for five years and play for their basketball team.
"It's just great for him because he sacrifices so much to do his basketball. As far as we are aware, he is only the second Scotsman in six years to get a basketball scholarship in the States.
"The Great Britain under-20 coach told people about him, and the ability he had, and one of them was this coach at Davidson."
Younger brother Grant, 16, who stands at 6ft 6in, is following in his sibling's footsteps - having gained himself a place in the under-18 Great Britain side at this year's European Championships.
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