Ireland U18 men's squad reduced to 24 ahead of FIBA Youth EuroBasket

Ireland U18 men's head coach Niall Berry has selected a squad of 24 as he continues preparations for  FIBA Youth EuroBasket, which takes place in Romania this Summer. 

18 players are based in Ireland, with six players retained from clubs and schools overseas in Canada, USA, Spain and UK. Eight of the roster have yet to be capped at international level - Aivaras Buzas, Daniel O'Meara, Franciszek Chmielecki, Griffin McDonagh, Kirill Yakovlev, Ryan Bell, Samuel Emanuel and Stephan Owede. 

There are 10 clubs represented from Antrim, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Laois, Limerick, Louth and Sligo. Three players return from the U18 squad which finished 11th with a 5-3 record at FIBA Youth EuroBasket a year ago - Darragh Horkan, Adam Charles and Matiss Ogle, while a further eight have played at FIBA Youth EuroBasket at U16 level. 

Speaking following his squad announcement, head coach Niall Berry said: 

We're very excited about the talent of the group, which is a testament to the increasing standards of the game and to the progression of our coaching levels here in Ireland. These players are a product of their club, academy and international coaches, who have helped them progress to this point. With a number of players based internationally and we feel a larger number at this stage of the process will serve us better as we develop. The 18 players based in Ireland will have a number of training camps to compete with each other for places in advance of our first international preparation series in April. 

We’ve been delighted to work closely with some incredibly talented players and to share with them our insights into international level basketball. There are a number of really talented players who for various reasons will not move forward in the programme this year. There are always difficult decisions to make as we narrow the squad down towards a final 12 and we sincerely hope players that have not been selected can take the knowledge gained and apply it to progress towards future international programmes.”

Ireland Squad: Adam Charles (Éanna BC), Aivaras Buzas (St Declan’s BC), Charlie Marcoullier (Christian Brothers Academy), Daniel O’Meara (Sligo All-Stars), Darragh Horkan (Limerick Lions), Dylan O’Rourke (Neptune BC), Eoin Potitto (Titans BC), Franciszek Chmielecki (Dundalk Ravens), Griffin McDonagh (Citadel High School, Canada), James Power (UCD Marian), Jayden Umeh (Portlaoise Panthers), Kieran Quinn (Gill St. Bernard’s, USA), Kirill Yakovlev (Limerick Lions), Lorcan Bailey Morrow (Portledge High School), Luke Herrick (Titans BC), Mark Burns (Belfast Star), Matiss Ogle (St Declans BC), Nathan Gbinigie (Titans BC), Piers Postma (UCD Marian), Raffy Conolly (Barking Abbey, UK), Ryan Bell (Éanna BC), Samuel Emanuel (St Declan’s BC), Shareef Elmahi (Dublin Lions), Stephan Owede (Titans BC).

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