Photos by Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Before coming to Radford, Artsiom Parakhouski played for two seasons at the College of Southern Idaho.

Junior-college transfer Artsiom Parakhouski is averaging a double-double in scoring and rebounds for Radford.

RADFORD -- When Artsiom Parakhouski stops playing basketball, and that won't be any time soon, he may consider a career as a self-help author.

His first writings can emerge directly from his own experience. Here's a proposed title:

"Speed Learning Made Easy."

It is unclear how "easy" the general public may find his educational concepts, but there is no question that the 6-foot-11, 260-pound Radford University junior by way of Belarus is personally a quick study.

A couple of numbers illuminate what we're talking about: 3 and 5.

Three is the number of years it took him to reach conversational proficiency after he arrived on these shores speaking not one word of English.

Five is how long he's played organized basketball.

Given the distances he's traveled, the communication struggles he's overcome, and the roundball skills he's developed, this is a young man who has come a long way -- literally and figuratively.

Now the fact of the matter is this: In less than half of a season, he might already be the most dominant player in the Big South Conference.

At the very least, it can be said that no other league newcomer has had the impact he has on his team this season -- save perhaps Liberty sharpshooter Seth Curry.

The Highlanders are alone in first place and Parakhouski is a major reason.

"We're lucky to have him," Radford coach Brad Greenberg said. "He could play for anybody in the country. For most of them, he'd start."

Yet Parakhouski was playing striker for a youth soccer team for the longest time. Then he had something of an epiphany.

"I thought maybe soccer wasn't for me," he said.

By that time, he was age 17 and already standing 6-8.

"I was tall, not as quick as the other players. I was losing my excitement to play soccer," he said.

Then, somebody pointed out: "Say, maybe you should try basketball."

Sounded good to him.

"I thought, well all right, maybe I should try it," he said. "I can't live without sports."

One reason for that is he comes from a sporting family. His father is a heptathlon coach who works for the national track and field federation. His mother coaches the national swim team. His sister is an Olympic swimming hopeful.

"You ought to see Art swim," Greenberg said.

Big Art is better at basketball. It wasn't long after he started playing that he was playing for the Belarus junior national team.

It so happened that his coach, Kanstantin Shereverya, knew another coach who then was an assistant at Binghamton (N.Y.), Ali Ton. The two met in Ton's native Turkey, where Ton played professionally and where his father Necmi Ton coaches in the pro league.

Now an assistant at Radford, Ali Ton was still at Binghamton -- a member of the America East Conference -- when he saw Parakhouski at the Junior European Championships. A scholarship offer was made soon after that.

Problem was, Parakhouski spoke no English. Plus, he was also a nonqualifier because he was unable to take the SAT or ACT tests in Belarus.

Ton suggested he consider a U.S. junior college, the College of Southern Idaho.

For the first season there, Parakhouski was still struggling with his English. That in part cost him some playing time.

"People were trying to help me, but I couldn't understand what they were saying to me," he said.

There were other problems, too.

"It took some time for him to adjust to the speed of the game," Greenberg said. "They had some really good players out there."

The upside was, in junior college, there was always plenty of time to work on his game.

"Not like here," he said, "where the NCAA says how much you can practice."

By his second year at Southern Idaho, Parakhouski was becoming quite a player. At a huge preseason junior college jamboree in Dallas the summer before his second year, the interest from major-college scouts grew.

Among those who contacted then Southern Idaho coach Barret Peery with questions were Florida and Kentucky.

Parakhouski remained loyal to Ton, by then at Radford.

A major factor in Parakhouski's choice of Radford was its relatively modest enrollment size -- less than 10,000 (both graduate and undergraduate).

Parakhouski's home of Minsk has upwards of 2 million residents. Parakhouski liked the relaxed pace of small town life in Idaho. The same would be true of Radford.

Parakhouski played from the start this season for the Highlanders, but his playing time during games was often limited before the Christmas break.

"I still wasn't in shape," he said. "When I went home to Belarus last summer, I didn't do anything for four or five months."

He's in shape now. He played all 50 minutes of the Highlanders' 94-82 double overtime victory over Liberty on Jan. 24. His numbers: 22 points, 16 rebounds, six blocked shots, three assists, one turnover.

On Monday at Winthrop, he had his 11th game with double figures in both points and rebounds -- tops in the Big South.

He's ready for more.

"I feel great now," he said.