Ben Gordon Commits To GB, Men’s Squad Announced

By Sam Neter on May 7, 2010

The addition of Ben Gordon to Team GB multiplies their chances of success this Summer

NBA and Detroit Pistons star Ben Gordon has committed to the Great Britain basketball team, beginning this summer as Team GB begin their campaign to qualify for the 2011 Eurobasket Championships.

London born Gordon is looking forward to making his GB debut:

“I am delighted to have committed myself to GB for this summer and beyond. I have heard a lot from Luol about the team and where we are going, so I am excited about the prospect of pulling on the GB vest. I have been in discussion with British Basketball for a while now, but various things have stopped me being able to fully commit, however I am now settled with the Pistons and the time is right.”

GB Standard Life Head Coach Chris Finch talking about the addition of Ben Gordon to the team said:

“The news of Ben’s inclusion is great for the team as he will bring considerable experience to the group. Over the last few years with the Bulls and more recently the Pistons, he has excelled in the NBA, so it’s great to be able to include him in the roster. We have always been aware of this desire to play for the team, but unfortunately things didn’t quite come together, however this year everything has worked out.

“We have a challenging summer programme ahead, so myself and the rest of the coaching team will be looking to get Ben settled in the team as quickly as possible to enable him to bring his considerable talent to the team. For me the inclusion of Ben is just another great example of the progress British Basketball has been making in the last few years, and I truly believe we are pulling together a very talented roster of players.”

This is HUGE news and instantly multiplies Team GB’s chances of qualifying for Eurobasket, a campaign that FIBA President Bob Elphinston has said is crucial to their chances of getting a spot at the London 2010 Olympic games.

The rest of the squad looks like this

GB Standard Life Senior Men’s Squad List:
Achara, Kieron – Angelico Biella ITA
Archibald, Robert – Unicaja Malaga, ESP
Boateng, Eric – Arizona State University, USA
Boyd, Flinder – Ourense Balonceto, ESP
Bryan-Amaning, Matthew – University of Washington, USA
Clark, Dan – Estudiantes, ESP
Deng, Luol – Chicago Bulls, USA
Forbes, Germayne – BBC Nyon, SWI
Freeland, Joel – Unicaja Malaga, ESP
George, Nick – Fastweb CM, ITA
Gordon, Ben – Detroit Pistons, USA
Hart, Jarrett – Keravnos, CYP
Larkai, Flo – Hamamatsu Phoenix, JPN
Lenzly, Mike – CEZ Nymburk, CZE
Mensah-Bonsu, Pops – CSKA Moscow, RUS
Reinking, Nate – Mons Hainaut, BEL
Robinson, Justin – Rider University, USA
Sullivan, Andrew – Newcastle Eagles, ENG
Toney, Tafari – Sheffield Sharks, ENG
Van Oostrum, Devon – Caja Laboral, ESP
Yanders, Rob – Scottish Rocks, SCO

Great to see the addition of Devon Van Oostrum (’93 born!) and Matthew Bryan Amaning to the initial squad list. Looks like we are going to have the strongest team ever fielded by a GB squad, with a great chance of doing well in the coming campaign.

What do you think?

Did you ever think you’d see Ben Gordon in a Team GB uniform? What do you reckon of your chances in August?

Tickets are now on sale

Tickets are now on sale for the home games of Game On 2010 EuroBasket Qualifying Campaign, visit www.gameongb.com or call 0844 581 0738 for your opportunity to see Team GB in action.

GB Standard Life EuroBasket Qualifying Games:

Hungary v GB – Szolnok, Hungary – Monday 2 August
GB v Macedonia – Sport Central, Northumbria University – Sunday 8 August, 16.00
Bosnia & Herzegovina v GB – Venue to be confirmed – Wednesday 11 August
GB v Ukraine – NIA, Birmingham – Saturday 14 August, 19.00
GB v Hungary – NIA, Birmingham – Tuesday 17 August, 19.30
Macedonia v GB – Venue to be confirmed – Monday 23 August
GB v Bosnia & Herzegovina – Echo Arena, Liverpool – Thursday 26 August, 19.30
Ukraine v GB – Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine – Sunday 29 August

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