Ireland is a men's international basketball team representing the island of Ireland. It is organised by Basketball Ireland, with players from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland play their home matches at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Dublin. The team has never qualified for the final stages of EuroBasket or the FIBA World Championship.
[edit] History
Ireland (white) against Luxembourg (blue) in 2009
Ireland's basketball association affiliated to FIBA in 1947. In 1948 the team was invited to the 1948 Olympic tournament in nearby London, from which many top sides were absent in the aftermath of World War II. The team finished last, losing every match heavily. Ireland were involved in Olympic qualification only once; in 1976 they finished bottom of the European qualification group.
In 1988 Ireland finished runner-up in EuroBasket Division C. In 1993 the National Basketball Arena opened which became the team's new permanent home. Division C was hosted there the following year, and Ireland beat Cyprus 81–78 in the final to gain promotion to EuroBasket Division B. Ireland narrowly failed to win promotion to Division A in EuroBasket 2005, losing to Denmark by 4 points after having won the first game in Dublin by 10 points.
In February 2010, with Ireland in the midst of a serious economic decline, Basketball Ireland announced that it was €1.2m in debt and was deactivating its senior international squads to cut costs.[1]
[edit] EuroBasket 2009 Qualifying campaign
- 15 Aug: Ireland 50–66 Sweden, National Basketball Arena, (Eurobasket B)
- 19 Aug: Ireland 73–98 Georgia, Vere Basketball Hall, Tbilisi, Georgia (Eurobasket B)
- 22 Aug: Ireland 100–83 Luxembourg, National Basketball Arena, (Eurobasket B)
- 29 Aug: Ireland 68–75 Slovakia, Inter Arena Pasienky, Bratislava, Slovakia (Eurobasket B)
[edit] Current roster
Ireland National Basketball Team roster
|
| Players |
Coaches |
| Pos. |
# |
Name |
Age - DOB |
Ht. |
Club |
Club nat. |
| 1.5 !G |
4 |
Westbrooks, Aaron |
&1000000000000002400000024 - January 11, 1986(1986-01-11) |
1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
Free Agent |
|
| 5.0 !C |
5 |
Killeen, Jason |
&1000000000000002900000029 - January 22, 1981(1981-01-22) |
2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) |
Cheshire Jets |
England ! |
| 1.5 !G |
6 |
O'Boyle, Ian |
&1000000000000002600000026 - March 6, 1984(1984-03-06) |
1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) |
Neptune Cork |
Ireland ! |
| 1.5 !G |
7 |
Westbrooks, Isaac |
&1000000000000002500000025 - April 2, 1985(1985-04-02) |
1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
Dart Killester |
Ireland ! |
| 3.5 !F |
10 |
O'Reilly, Colin |
&1000000000000002100000021 - April 2, 1989(1989-04-02) |
2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) |
Cheshire Jets |
England ! |
| 1.5 !G |
12 |
Mullins, Bryan |
&1000000000000002300000023 - January 13, 1987(1987-01-13) |
1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
Champagne Basket Reims Chalons |
France ! |
| 5.0 !C |
13 |
Williams, Mike |
&1000000000000002800000028 - January 21, 1982(1982-01-21) |
2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) |
Free Agent |
|
| 3.5 !F |
14 |
Grace, Conor |
&1000000000000002800000028 - January 31, 1982(1982-01-31) |
2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) |
Norrköping Dolphins |
Sweden ! |
| 5.0 !C |
15 |
Naughton, Justen |
&1000000000000002900000029 - July 31, 1981(1981-07-31) |
2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) |
Free Agent |
|
| 1.5 !G |
21 |
Westbrooks, Michael |
&1000000000000002800000028 - October 26, 1982(1982-10-26) |
1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
Dart Killester |
Ireland ! |
| 1.5 !G |
22 |
Kinevane, Scott |
&1000000000000002300000023 - March 31, 1987(1987-03-31) |
1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
UL Eagles |
Ireland ! |
| 3.5 !F |
24 |
Kelly, Patrick |
&1000000000000002700000027 - April 14, 1983(1983-04-14) |
1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) |
Dart Killester |
Ireland ! |
|
- Head coach
Jay Larranaga 
- Assistant coach(es)
Mark Keenan and Pat Price
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (DP) Unsigned draft pick
- (FA) Free agent
- (S) Suspended
 Injured
|
[edit] Competitions
[edit] Performance at Summer Olympics
[edit] Notable players
- Pat Burke – Only Irish-born to have played in the NBA. Played for Orlando Magic & Phoenix Suns. Also a Euroleague and ULEB Eurocup winner with Panathinaikos BC & Real Madrid Baloncesto
- Marty Conlon – NBA player for Seattle SuperSonics, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Bullets, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Clippers, but not born in Ireland
- Cal Bowdler – NBA player for Atlanta Hawks, but not born in Ireland
- Jay Larranaga – former captain of Ireland national team, and European basketball star
- Billy Donlon – current head coach of the Wright State University men's basketball team.
[edit] Honours
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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| Europe |
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| Oceania |
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- Note: The Under-21 Championship is no longer held.
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