British Basketball’s performance chief Warwick Cann has pledged to review the way Great Britain’s international programmes are run, despite facing calls to quit at the end of a disastrous summer.
Long-time captain Drew Sullivan has led the criticism of the “downward spiral†taken since London 2012, accusing the governing body of failing to build an Olympic legacy and of a lack of communication that has led to the absence of NBA All Star Luol Deng.
Last week’s two losses to the Tall Blacks in London means that GB’s senior and Under-20 teams ended the 2015 campaign with a meagre total of seven wins from their 33 fixtures, with the senior women finishing bottom at EuroBasket Women and a talented Under-20 men’s squad suffering relegation into Europe’s Division B.
But Cann, who has seen UK Sport withdraw their backing during his tenure and who is understood to have been the primary reason for the damaging exit of highly-respected operations director Sinead Gordon, suggested to MVP that he will not stand down as National Teams Director.
“I’m disappointed,†the Australian said. “We’ll review it like we always do. You have to sit back and have a look at it quite hard. I’m really disappointed. We’ll go through a review and the future is the future. We review every programme at the end of it.â€
However one other senior GB international believed the rot set in before 2012 when Chris Spice – now at British Swimming – was performance director, telling MVP: “I feel blame would still go to the previous management. Everyone likes to point fingers.â€
GB’s 2015 record
Competitive | Total | |
Senior Men | – | 0-2* |
Senior Women | 0-4 | 2-8 |
Under-20 Men | 3-6 | 4-8 |
Under-20 Women | 1-8 | 1-8 |
Total | 4-18 | 7-26 |
Win% | 22% | 27% |
* includes closed-door friendly
Main pic: BB
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