Kelleher names panel of 16 for U18 Ireland team

A panel of 16 players has been chosen by head coach Paul Kelleher and his backroom team for the Ireland U18 men's team. Just two of the players named, Brendan Douanla and Ruairi Cronin, have previously played for Ireland, and seven players in the panel are under the age of 17.

Speaking on his selection, head coach Paul Kelleher is focusing in on getting his squad ready to compete at European level again;

"We have had an extensive process up until now to get to this point. With the draw only around the corner on February 15th for the European Championships, it's time now to start focusing on that element of the program. Many factors went into the make-up of this squad and we are more than happy with the players that are continuing with the program. Only two capped players in the squad, so that gives us all a sense of the amount of work we must catch up on if we are to compete at an appropriate level this summer. The players are embracing the challenge, but they also know now that we have to make some significant steps and they are prepared to do it."

Ireland U18 men's squad

Players Name	Last	DOB	Age	Height	School/Club	Position	Caps
Aivaras	Uosis	2005-03-02	16	6'6"	Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne, Tralee Imperials, Tralee Warriors	Guard	0
Ben	Burke	2004-01-01	17	6'1"	NUIG Maree	Guard	0
Brendan	Douanla	2004-01-23	17	6'6"	Ballincollig Basketball Club	Forward	2
Christian	McDonnell	2004-01-16	17	6'2"	Malahide BC	Guard	0
Daniel	Carberry	2005-01-04	16	6'2"	Templeogue	Guard	0
Francois	Nkoy	2005-08-09	16	6’9”	Fr. Matthews	Forward	0
Greg	Marinkovic Augustine	2004-03-20	17	6'5"	NABA, Lanzarote	Guard	0
Jack	Kehoe	2005-04-19	16	6'5"	IT Carlow & Old Leighlin	Forward	0
Jakub	Pasieczny	2005-05-19	16	6'5"	Phoenix Longford	Guard	0
Jamie	Cotter	2004-02-05	17	6'1"	Reading rockets. JMA	Guard	0
Joseph	Badejo	2005-09-22	16	6'7"	Dundalk Ravens	Forward	0
Leslie	Okafor	2004-01-03	17	6'5"	Itchen college/ Solent kestrels	Forward	0
Max	Tyndall	2004-11-01	16	6'5"	Drogheda wolves	Forward	0
Ruairi	Cronin	2004-01-31	17	6'4"	Limerick Celtics, Castletroy College	Guard	4
Sean	Fitzpatrick	2004-08-16	17	6'3"	Malahide Basketball club	Guard	0
Tony	Ezeonu	2005-02-17	17	6’6"	Wt White High school Dallas, Tx	Guard	0

Prior to competing in the FIBA U18 European Championship this Summer, the Ireland U18 men's team will compete in the Home Nations competition in Cardiff on April 13th & 14th, where they will compete against England, Scotland and Wales.

Click Here to tune in to the live draw from FIBA for the Youth European Championships (11am 15th February).