Irish Senior Men’s Head Coach Pete Strickland has today announced an initial panel of 20 players for the Irish Senior men’s basketball team with Moycullen's Paul Freeman named in the twenty.
Eight of the 12 Men’s Super League teams are represented with Freeman making the cut alongside players from Templeogue, UCC Demons, Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, UCD Marian, Griffith Swords Thunder, Pyrobel Killester and Belfast Star. Four Irish players who are currently playing basketball overseas also feature on the list.
Speaking about the squad announcement Strickland stated: “On behalf of our current Irish Senior Men's National team staff of Assistant Coach Ioannis Liapakis and Team Manager Tom O'Malley, it is an honor to announce the selection of our initial 20 basketball players for the Irish Men's National Team. Selecting just twenty from a far more expansive grouping of quality players in the country was difficult. Nonetheless, preparing for the 2018 Small Nations Tournament demands that we now begin the process of building a team that all Irish basketball players, indeed, all of Ireland, can be proud of. Training will commence this April, allowing our team members to complete their respective seasons with their current club and university teams,” he continued.
“It is my avowed goal to make this Irish team a living embodiment to teamwork, hard work and basketball acumen that all of Europe must contend with. Personally, I am thrilled to follow in the footsteps of friends, mentors and colleagues such as Danny Fulton, Enda Byrt, Bill Dooley, Gerry Fitzpatrick, Jay Larranaga, and others, as well as recently acquainted Collin O'Reilly, all men who have successfully coached the Irish squad in years past.”
Strickland will return to Ireland in April where he – along with Assistant Coach Ioannis Liopakis – will bring the squad together for their first training session.
The players selected are (alphabetically by first name):
Adrian O'Sullivan (UCC Demons)
Cian Sullivan (La Salle University)
Ciaran O'Sullivan (UCC Demons)
Ciaran Roe (Pyrobel Killester)
Colin O'Reilly (UCC Demons)
Conor Meany (UCD Marian)
Daniel James (UCD Marian)
Eoghain Kiernan (Pyrobel Killester)
Issac Westbrooks (Griffith Swords Thunder)
Jason Killeen (Templeogue)
John Carroll (University of Hartford)
Jordan Blount (University of Illinois)
Keelan Cairns (Belfast Star)
Kieran Donaghy (Garvey’s Tralee Warriors)
Lorcan Murphy (Templeogue)
Neil Randolph (Templeogue)
Paul Dick (most recently Fuenlabrada, Madrid)
Paul Freeman (SSE Airtricity Moycullen)
Roy Downey (UCC Demons)
Ryan Leonard (Garvey’s Tralee Warriors)
