GORDON SET TO CALL IT A COMEBACK
Former NBA guard Ben Gordon has been handed a shock recall into the Great Britain squad for next month’s EuroBasket qualifiers, a year after he played his last game.
The 33-year-old, who was born in London, has yet to win a cap for GB after withdrawing from three previous summer campaigns, including the 2012 Olympics.
But with Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng and CSKA Moscow centre Joel Freeland also continuing their own international exiles, Gordon – who has been without a club since he was waived by the Orlando Magic last June – has been named on the 24-man long list for training camp by coach Joe Prunty.
His announcement will, on past record, be no guarantee of an appearance even if the ex-NBA Sixth Man of the Year is looking to make a comeback within European basketball.
Olympian Kyle Johnson will also return for a campaign that sees GB face Macedonia, Luxembourg and Hungary in their quest to reach next year’s finals.
Over half the roster is aged 26 or younger, with eight players returning to contention twelve months after their debut. Alex Young, Joe Hart, Teddy Okereafor, Will Saunders, Robert Gilchrist, Fahro Alihodzic, Zak Wells, and Chris Caird all featured in either last year’s Copper Box friendly against New Zealand and Leiden tournament. 6’11 centre Gabe Olaseni is another young prospect to feature.
But Myles Hesson has opted out of the qualifiers.
“It has been extremely challenging already in simply naming the squad,” said Prunty, who will again be assisted by Nate Reinking “Camp invitations for this campaign are the most competitive they have been. As with every year, naming the squad has its unique challenges but the amount of passion for the program has grown immensely since 2013. Spots will continue to become more competitive in the future and that is a good thing.”
“There are players not named to the final 24 for various reasons. Each player every summer is in a different situation which presents different issues. Myles Hesson, for example, has grown tremendously in the last 3 years. We have a great relationship with Myles and we know he is still part of the British Basketball family.”
| NAME | HEIGHT | POSITION | CLUB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kieron Achara | 6’8 | Forward/Centre | Glasgow Rocks |
| Matthew Bryan Amaning | 6’10 | Guard/Forward | San Lorenzo |
| Fahro Alihodzic | 6’10 | Centre | Promitheas |
| Ogo Adegboye | 6’0 | Guard | Viola RC |
| Eric Boateng | 6’8 | Centre | Blois |
| Chris Caird | 6’7 | Forward | Tindastoll |
| Dan Clark | 6’10 | Forward/Centre | Andorra |
| Ali Fraser | 6’7 | Forward | Leeuwarden |
| Robert Gilchrist | 6’9 | Forward | Peristeri GS |
| Ben Gordon | 6’3 | Guard | Free Agent |
| Joe Hart | 6’4 | Guard | Araberri |
| Ashley Hamilton | 6’7 | Forward | Lavrio |
| Kyle Johnson | 6’4 | Guard/Forward | Casale |
| Andrew Lawrence | 6’1 | Guard | GBC |
| Gareth Murray | 6’7 | Forward | Glasgow Rocks |
| Ben Mockford | 6’2 | Guard | Caceres |
| Will Neighbour | 6’10 | Forward | Surrey Scorchers |
| Teddy Okereafor | 6’4 | Guard | Free Agent |
| Gabe Olaseni | 6’10 | Centre | Banco di Srd |
| Justin Robinson | 6’2 | Guard | Trikalla |
| Will Saunders | 6’7 | Forward | Angelico Biella (ITA) |
| Justin Sears | 6’8 | Forward | Giessen 46ers (GER) |
| Alex Young | 6’1 | Guard | Free Agent |
| Zak Wells | 7’0 | Centre | Leeds Force |
Elsewhere, Great Britain face Croatia on Friday afternoon in the quarter-finals of the European Under-20 Championships in Chalkida.
Do you like our work?
We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.
We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.
We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.
If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.
We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.
0 comments