Kieron Achara, a redshirt junior and the elder statesmen on Duquesne University's basketball team, hasn't been sleeping much since five of his teammates were shot early Sunday after a dance on campus.

That was the case around 2 a.m. Tuesday when, as he lay awake in bed, teammate Aaron Jackson called.

"He said he has to talk to someone," said Achara, who, along with Jackson, are the only returning players for the Dukes. "About four or five of us went to McDonald's. We stayed there for a couple hours. I'm strong enough to hold my own. We have a lot of young guys looking to me, and I feel if I'm weak, I'll let them down.

"Nobody is going to go through this alone. I keep my cell phone on at night if one of my teammates needs to talk. I know I'm going to be fine. My teammates will be fine. It's going to take time."

Achara, a 6-foot-9 forward who sat out last season after having shoulder surgery, has been working out and playing pickup games in the gym with his teammates the past couple days.

"It gives you some time to get your mind off things," he said. "We have to stay strong as a unit, as a family. We want to get back to a normal schedule as soon as we can. That's the only way to go forward. Self-pity will not help us, it will not help our friends still in the hospital."

Achara has visited Stuard Baldonado, who was shot in the elbow and side, and Sam Ashaolu, who was shot in the head and is in critical condition.

"Baldonado feels he's fortunate ... he's still alive," Achara. "I saw Ashaolu just once. He didn't know I was there. All he can do is keep on fighting. All we can do is keep on praying."

Achara and nearly all of his teammates were hanging out together at the dance and having a good time.

"We were really bonding. I didn't see any trouble at the dance," said Achara, who left at 1:55 a.m., about five minutes before it was scheduled to end. He walked a couple hundred yards to the Towers and took the elevator upstairs.

"I was notified there was a shooting," he said. "At first I thought it was just firecrackers, or something like that."

Achara ran down the steps to head outside, but a security guard wouldn't let anybody leave the building. About 30 minutes later, Achara and a number of his teammates walked across the street to Mercy Hospital, where they sat in the lobby until about 7 a.m.

"We were all trying to console each other. Everyone was in shock," Achara said. "I was proud to be part of this team. I feel good to be a part of Duquesne, the way everybody responded and handled things. It's not something you can plan for. People really care. Everyone was there for everyone else. If you're down, a teammate will be there to pick you up."

Achara, who grew up in Stirling, Scotland, isn't familiar with guns.

"They're illegal in Scotland. The police don't even carry guns," he said. "This is all new to me. This is all very frightening to me."