Ireland men's national basketball team

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Ireland Republic of Ireland
File:Bballireland logo.jpg
FIBA rankingT-94
Joined FIBA1947
FIBA zoneFIBA Europe
National federationBasketball Ireland
CoachJay Larranaga
Olympic Games
Appearances1 (1948)
MedalsNone
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
EuroBasket
AppearancesNone
Championship for Small Countries
Appearances4
Medals Gold: 1994
Silver: 1988

The Ireland men's national basketball team represents 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 yet to qualify for the final stages of EuroBasket or the FIBA World Championship.

History

Ireland (white) against Luxembourg (blue) in 2009

The Amateur Basketball Association of Ireland (ABAI; now Basketball Ireland) was formed in 1945 and affiliated to FIBA in 1947. An indoor version of Basketball had been played in the Irish Army from 1936, but using non-standard rules to create an indoor winter substitute for Gaelic football; until 1943, the Army Athletic Council officially recognised only Gaelic games.[1] The ABAI sent a team of the best Army players to the 1948 Olympic tournament in nearby London, despite the refusal of Army command to release the players for intensive training. The team coaches were officers unfamiliar with the sport, who outranked the players and ignored their advice. Although many top sides were absent from the London Games in the aftermath of World War II, the Irish team finished last, losing every match heavily; the worst a 71–9 loss to Mexico, who finished fourth.[2] Only two of the team were over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall.[3]

The team's standard improved gradually from the 1970s to the 2000s, as more school leavers won scholarships to play US college basketball, and some Irish American professional players took up eligibility to compete for their ancestral country. Ireland entered European-zone Olympic qualification tournaments in 1972,[4] 1976,[5] 1984,[6] and 1988,[7] losing every match each time. In 1988 Ireland finished runner-up in the inaugural Promotion Cup, the third tier of EuroBasket, later named EuroBasket Division C, and now the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries. In 1993 the National Basketball Arena opened in Dublin, 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 FIBA EuroBasket 2005 Division B, losing to Denmark by 4 points after having won the first game in Dublin by 10 points.

In February 2010, during the Irish financial criss, Basketball Ireland announced that it was €1.2m in debt and was deactivating its senior international squads to cut costs.[8] In December 2015, the team was reactivated for 2016.[9]

In December 2015, it was announced that the men's national will play the 2016 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries.[10]

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)

Current roster

Template:FIBA roster header1 |- | style="text-align:center;" | G | style="text-align:center;" | 4 | style="text-align:left;" | Aaron Westbrooks | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1986-01-11)11 January 1986 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Free Agent | style="text-align:center;" | |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | C | style="text-align:center;" | 5 | style="text-align:left;" | Jason Killeen | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1981-01-22)22 January 1981 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Cheshire Jets | style="text-align:center;" | England |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | G | style="text-align:center;" | 6 | style="text-align:left;" | Ian O'Boyle | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1984-03-06)6 March 1984 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Neptune Cork | style="text-align:center;" | Republic of Ireland |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | G | style="text-align:center;" | 7 | style="text-align:left;" | Isaac Westbrooks | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1985-04-02)2 April 1985 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Travelodge Swords Thunder | style="text-align:center;" | Republic of Ireland |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | F | style="text-align:center;" | 10 | style="text-align:left;" | Colin O'Reilly | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1989-04-02)2 April 1989 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Cheshire Jets | style="text-align:center;" | England |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | G | style="text-align:center;" | 12 | style="text-align:left;" | Bryan Mullins | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1987-01-13)13 January 1987 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Champagne Basket Reims Chalons | style="text-align:center;" | France |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | C | style="text-align:center;" | 13 | style="text-align:left;" | Mike Williams | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1982-01-21)21 January 1982 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Free Agent | style="text-align:center;" | |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | F | style="text-align:center;" | 14 | style="text-align:left;" | Conor Grace | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1982-01-31)31 January 1982 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Norrköping Dolphins | style="text-align:center;" | Sweden |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | C | style="text-align:center;" | 15 | style="text-align:left;" | Justen Naughton | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1981-07-31)31 July 1981 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Free Agent | style="text-align:center;" | |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | G | style="text-align:center;" | 21 | style="text-align:left;" | Michael Westbrooks | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1982-10-26)26 October 1982 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Dart Killester | style="text-align:center;" | Republic of Ireland |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | G | style="text-align:center;" | 22 | style="text-align:left;" | Scott Kinevane | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1987-03-31)31 March 1987 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | UL Eagles | style="text-align:center;" | Republic of Ireland |-

|- | style="text-align:center;" | F | style="text-align:center;" | 24 | style="text-align:left;" | Patrick Kelly | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | Error: Second date should be year, month, day – (1983-04-14)14 April 1983 | style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;" | Dart Killester | style="text-align:center;" | Republic of Ireland |-


|} | style="vertical-align:top;" |

Head coach

Republic of Ireland Jay Larranaga

Assistant coach(es)

Republic of Ireland Mark Keenan

and

Republic of Ireland Pat Price

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

|}

Head coach position

  • Republic of Ireland Mark Keenan – 2014 (Irish Superleague Select Team)
  • Republic of Ireland Colin O'Reilly – 2015 (Hibernia Basketball - selection of players from Irish National leagues)

Competitive record

Notable players

Honours

See also

References

  1. ^ Mac Lua, Brendan (1967). "12: The Passing Years". The steadfast rule : a history of the G.A.A. ban. Dublin: Press Cuchulainn. pp. 85–87. OCLC 16988629.
  2. ^ "Ireland: 1948 Olympic Games : Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  3. ^ Hunt, Tom (July–August 2012). "Ireland 'slam-dunked': basketball at the 1948 games". History Ireland. 20 (4). doi:10.2307/41588713.
  4. ^ "Ireland: 1972 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Ireland: 1976 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Ireland: 1984 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Ireland: 1988 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men". Results archive. FIBA. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  8. ^ Duggan, Keith (24 February 2010). "Basketball Ireland pull plug on international sides". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  9. ^ "IRELAND SENIOR MEN RETURN TO ACTION". BasketballIreland.ie. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Ireland's men's basketball team to re-enter European competition in 2016". Inside the games. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.

External links

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