Only on 13: Former Houston high school basketball star fights to get home amid war in Middle East
· Yahoo Sports
Instead of being on the hardwood, a former Houston high school basketball star, now playing professionally overseas, is just trying to get home.
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Kerwin Roach has been playing in the Middle East but says the war in the region has left him stranded for weeks.
Roach doesn't remember a time when he wasn't playing basketball.
"I love to play basketball. It's something I've done, literally, all my life," Roach said.
The former North Shore star's talents and skills on the court caught the attention of elite programs before he went on to play for the Longhorns in 2015.
Despite his elite skill set, he wasn't drafted to the pros, so instead he took his talents overseas, playing in different countries.
"Went to New Zealand, won a championship out there, then after that, went to Jordan, the Jordan league for the playoffs, and that's how I got introduced to the Middle East," Roach said.
Now, he's playing in Bahrain, but a knee injury cut his season short, and he's been trying to get back to Houston for treatment since March 2.
However, with the ongoing conflict in Iran and the violence spreading through the region, Roach says his flight home kept getting canceled.
According to ABC News, Bahrain was one of several Gulf countries targeted in Iranian attacks.
Roach has videos on his cell phone that capture the strikes happening just outside his apartment.
"Every time the sirens go off, you know, your heart gets to racing, pumping. Get the jitter type in your leg, you go outside, make sure nothing is going on," Roach said.
What made matters worse, his injury had already limited his mobility.
"And that was also something I had to worry about. If I had to get out the car, or get out of a building and run," Roach said.
The injury and the turmoil in the region didn't hold him back. Since he couldn't catch a flight, Kerwin made a long, exhausting journey driving from Bahrain to Riyadh, then flying to Istanbul, where he's now safe and has a flight booked for Houston.
But even as he gets closer to home, his heart is with those who couldn't leave.
"I feel very privileged and very blessed to be honest. And that's like the only words I can. I don't have to be there to endure that. To have those sleepless nights, having to wake up at three or four in the morning and not being able to go back to sleep," Roach said.