Runako Charles

Runako Charles (born December 28, 1989 in London, England) is currently a junior member of the Newcastle Eagles basketball programme in the BBL/EBL as a point guard and shooting guard. Charles is listed as 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 176 lb (80 kg) and has a 6 ft 5 in wingspan.
He played college basketball for Richmond upon Thames College from 2006-2009, where he won the South East Region tournament two years in a row. In 2007 he had his first taste of international basketball whilst participating in an annual summer tournament in Belgium; at only 17 years old, he was the youngest player in the men’s division and consistently scored three 3-pointers in every game along with 4 assists. Amongst numerous other European tournaments throughout recent years, he also participated in the Unicaja Málaga Summer Invitational in 2008 with his club team London United.
In the 2009-2010 season Charles played for the 22FT Basketball Academy in Southern France, where he received an individualised player development programme, which included a twice a day training schedule for 9 consecutive months, and semi-professional games against NM2 and NM3 teams from the French professional leagues. During the summer of 2010, Charles played for team Belgrade in the Eurobasket Summer League tournament in Malaga, Spain; and won the Nike sponsored Midnight Madness tournament in Nottingham, England, playing for team Newcastle.
High school career
Charles had a dominating high school career at Featherstone High School, as the team’s starting point guard for 5 successive seasons. During these years he was the cornerstone of the team, leading them to numerous victories in a variety of leagues and tournaments. In his senior year he averaged 35 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals; with his greatest performance against cross-town rivals Northolt High School, in which he scored 55 points.
Additionally, throughout those 5 years, he played national club level basketball for Hackney White Heat, Westminster Warriors, and East London Royals; under some of the U.K.’s best junior basketball coaches, including Humphrey Long and the late Joe White.
College career
Charles had a successful college career at Richmond Upon Thames College, as the team’s starting point guard leading them to 2 successive South East Region championships; averaging 8 points per game and 15 assists. During these years, Charles played under Head Coach Jack Majewski (from Poland).
Alongside three other young British stars (Oliver Robertson, Henry Wilkins, and Ahmed Othman), Charles truly developed his skills as a point guard and learned how to be the team leader on court. His passing ability improved tremendously over the three seasons and he soon became known for making flamboyant assists, as well as being a deadly 3-point marksman.
Semi Pro Career
22ft Basketball Academy
22 ft is France’s equivalent of the American IMG Academies, with coaches and players coming from around the world, including Serbia, Israel and the NCAA. During these 9 months Charles solely concentrated on developing as a player and improving his basketball I.Q. He had the opportunity to test his skills twice a week against French professional teams, playing against players his own age, as well as many 10 years his senior. As the purpose of these games was in-game development, all players received equal on-court playing time; consequently, Charles averaged 10 points per game whilst dishing out 8 assists in 20 minutes of play.
Charles benefitted from the Academy because he trained under both European and American coaches, combining an up-tempo style of play along with a structured, fundamental half-court set approach.
Eurobasket Summer League (ESL) Malaga, Spain
During the month of July 2010, Charles participated in the renowned Eurobasket Summer League (ESL) held in Malaga, Spain. The league consisted of professional players and coaches from around the globe, including the Spanish Liga Española de Baloncesto (LEB Gold and LEB Silver) leagues. Charles as the youngest player in the league, turned heads when he made 3 of 5 three-pointers, 4 steals, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in the semi-final game playing for team Belgrade.

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