Ireland national basketball team

Ireland

FIBA ranking	T-94
Joined FIBA	1947
FIBA zone	FIBA Europe
National federation	Basketball Ireland
Coach	Jay Larranaga
Olympic Games
Appearances	1 (1948)
Medals	None
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	None
EuroBasket
Appearances	None
Championship for Small Countries
Appearances	4
Medals	Gold: 1994 Silver: 1988
Uniforms
Light Dark

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

Team PCT. W L PF PA Diff  Georgia .875 7 1 738 549 +189  Sweden .875 7 1 627 491 +136  Slovakia .500 4 4 630 631 −1  Ireland .250 2 6 616 663 −47  Luxembourg .000 0 8 512 789 −277

GEO  IRL  LUX  SVK  SWE  Georgia – 98–73 115–73 91–50 82–72 Ireland 77–94 – 100–83 88–95 50–66  Luxembourg 65–98 70–97 – 63–76 51–96  Slovakia 78–101 75–68 110–67 – 88–89  Sweden 61–59 82–63 97–40 64–58 -

• 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

Ireland National Basketball Team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Age – DOB Ht. Club G 4 Westbrooks, Aaron 24 – 11 January 1986 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Free Agent C 5 Killeen, Jason 29 – 22 January 1981 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Cheshire Jets G 6 O'Boyle, Ian 26 – 6 March 1984 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Neptune Cork G 7 Westbrooks, Isaac 25 – 2 April 1985 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Travelodge Swords Thunder F 10 O'Reilly, Colin 21 – 2 April 1989 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Cheshire Jets G 12 Mullins, Bryan 23 – 13 January 1987 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Champagne Basket Reims Chalons C 13 Williams, Mike 28 – 21 January 1982 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Free Agent F 14 Grace, Conor 28 – 31 January 1982 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Norrköping Dolphins C 15 Naughton, Justen 29 – 31 July 1981 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Free Agent G 21 Westbrooks, Michael 28 – 26 October 1982 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Dart Killester G 22 Kinevane, Scott 23 – 31 March 1987 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) UL Eagles F 24 Kelly, Patrick 27 – 14 April 1983 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Dart Killester	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

Head coach position

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

Competitive record

At Promotion Cup Promotion Cup Year Position Pld W L 1988 Runners-up 5 4 1 1990 Fourth place 5 3 2 1992 Fourth place 5 2 3 1994 Champions 5 5 0 Total 20 14 6

At Olympic Games Olympic Games Record Year Position Pld W L 1948 23rd Place 6 0 6 2020 To Be Determined Total 1/20 6 0 6

At Basketball World Cup World Cup Year Position Pld W L 2019 To Be Determined Total 0 0 0 At EuroBasket EuroBasket Year Position Pld W L 2017 To Be Determined Total 0 0 0

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
• Billy Donlon – current head coach of the Wright State University men's basketball team.

Honours

• EuroBasket Division B Promotion runners-up: 2005
• EuroBasket Division C winners: 1994. runners-up: 1988

See also

• Ireland women's national basketball team
• Basketball Ireland
• Ireland national under-19 basketball team
• Ireland national under-17 basketball team
• Ireland women's national under-19 basketball team
• Ireland women's national under-17 basketball team
• Ireland national 3x3 team

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

• Basketball Ireland Official site
• Ireland national team results from FIBA