TEENAGER Zion Tordoff has become the first product of Bradford Dragons' junior programme to make it into a United States league.

The 6ft 7in former Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College student has earned a full basketball scholarship at Casper College in Wyoming and flies out at the end of the month.

A Great Britain under-18 international, Tordoff was also recently voted the EABL (Elite Academy Basketball League) Western player of the year.

Introduced to the sport at the age of 12 by his PE teacher Steve Ward at Buttershaw BEC, Tordoff soon showed potential and, despite football being his first love and basketball being a social activity in between, he was cajoled by then Dragons chairman Stuart Culliford to join their junior programme.

The following year, Culliford recruited Hungarian coach Tamas Okros to head up the junior programme and he quickly identified Tordoff as a real talent, not only giving him the chance to play in national leagues at under-14, under-16 and under-18 level but also creating a tough, competitive junior environment.

As a result, many players fell by the wayside – but not Tordoff, who said: "The demands placed upon the players by the coach (Okros) showed me what was required and the sacrifices that were needed in order to take my game to a higher level. Raw talent is not enough."

By the age of 14, Tordoff was representing the Dragons in the National League at under-16 and under-18 levels, achieving berths in the end-of-season play-offs with both age groups.

Tordoff's performances prompted Dragons head coach Chris Mellor to take him under his wing and the youngster recalled: "Chris, who is a great friend of my dad, always joked about when I was going to stop playing football in order to concentrate on my basketball. Eventually I saw sense.

"Chris took me under his wing straight away, installing in me the principles of hard work and dedication, which will eventually pay off.

"He has always been there for me, even after I left the Dragons, and through him I have learnt many valuable lessons which I believe have separated me out from other players for the good."

Mellor reflected: "Zion has made remarkable progress for a guy who didn't really pick up a basketball until he was 12.

"I think that, because of this, he knew he was playing catch-up and, in some ways, this has helped him. He has disciplined himself, both on and off the court, to make up for lost time very quickly.

"He is a very humble young man, with a great work ethic. He loves to practice and his successes already have shown that he is also mentally tough.

"The American adventure is another great challenge for him but, if the past four years are anything to go by, I only see him improving."

Tordoff made his international debut for England under-15s at the Copenhagen Invitational tournament and that same season he also made his first appearances for the Dragons first team in Division One of the National Basketball League.

He went on to make further international appearances against Sweden and at international tournaments in France.

Still relatively unknown, he was drafted in from a reserve list to attend the prestigious DENG Camp, a residential environment headed up by British NBA star Luol Deng.

The camp invites the top 50 ranked players (under-19s) in the United Kingdom to put their abilities to the test in a bid to be ranked the UK's No 1. Despite having not been on the initial invite list, Tordoff finished the camp ranked No 16.

Following the completion of his GCSEs, Tordoff made the decision to leave Bradford in order to further his career at the Myerscough Basketball Academy in Lancashire, where he competed in the EABL.

In his initial season, Myerscough were under-19 finalists, while Tordoff himself was voted onto the Western Conference second team, averaging 13.8 points per game with a shot percentage of 66.

That same season he played for Myerscough College in National League Division Three, averaging 19 points and ten rebounds per game, which then led to him being called into the Lancashire Spinners Division One team.

Tordoff's international progression also continued as he was called up to represent England under-18s in the annual Invitational Haris Memorial Tournament in Manchester. True to form, he finished the competition as England's top scorer.

In the summer of 2016, Tordoff was selected to play in the Hoopsfix Under-17s All-Star game in which he was presented with the MVP (most valuable player) award.

Once again, he was invited to attend the DENG camp, this time being ranked as the second-best player (under-19) in the United Kingdom, shooting an impressive 26 points per game (61 per cent accuracy.

In the 2016-17 season, Tordoff established himself in the starting five for Lancashire Spinners, helping to push them into play-off contention with two National Basketball League player-of-the-week performances.

He also continued to represent his country, once again competing in the Haris tournament and averaging 16.5 points per game.

Tordoff won the 2017 Under-18s National Cup with Myerscough, claiming the MVP award in the process.

His Academy team also rounded off the season as EABL Western Conference runners-up, with Tordoff this time being voted onto the Western Conference first team.

He followed this up by being voted the EABL Western Conference player of the year for 2017. He ranked number one in no fewer than eight categories for his Academy (two-point field goals percentage, three-point field goals percentage, free-throw percentage, points scored, true shooting percentage, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and efficiency rating).

It is this continual progression in Tordoff's game that has led to him achieving a scholarship for the 2017-18 season at Casper College.

Although he had other offers, Tordoff feels that Wyoming is a perfect fit, with a coach who wants to challenge him to improve, while also having an expectation that he will make an immediate impact on the team.

Tordoff said: "My journey to Casper will give me an initial one year to prove myself.

"I've achieved a lot in the UK and I want to take the best of that and learn the best of the USA system to enhance my skills.

"I've worked hard to get where I am but I feel privileged that head coach Dan Russell believes in my abilities enough to offer me a full scholarship.

"I can't thank the people enough who have touched my life so far, in helping me to achieve such a great opportunity. Hopefully there is more to come."