FIBA Basketball
GBR - Thumbs-up for Britain
SHEFFIELD (EuroBasket Division B) - England’s men and women captured bronze at the Commonwealth Games but basketball in the country will now officially move forward as Great Britain. The FIBA Europe Board which recently met in Madrid
SHEFFIELD (EuroBasket Division B) - England’s men and women captured bronze at the Commonwealth Games but basketball in the country will now officially move forward as Great Britain.
The FIBA Europe Board which recently met in Madrid gave a thumbs-up for British teams to take part in Division B of the EuroBasket (for men) and EuroBasket Women over the next two years.
The long-term aim is for both the men’s and women’s teams to play at the London Olympics in 2012, but in order to take up places reserved for the host nations, basketball’s world governing body FIBA must be convinced Britain will have competitive teams.
FIBA will watch closely as the men and women attempt to win promotion from Division B to Division A, which would allow each to play in EuroBasket qualifying games.
Basketball has had to overcome numerous issues in Britain, from poor organisation and funding to bad coaching, but there should be no doubt about the quality of the athletes.
If Britain’s men can gather just some of their top players when they take on Slovakia, the Netherlands, Albania and Belarus, in Division B games this September, they will stand an excellent chance of winning all four games.
The Brits will ultimately need to finish top of the group after the 2007 games and then win a play-off against another group winner to advance to Division A.
England had some fine moments in Division A under former coach Laszlo Nemeth, beating teams like Slovenia and Latvia, two sides that always take part in EuroBasket finals, but Nemeth was alway undermined by poor organisation and a lack of resources.
Britain’s men and women cannot afford to waste any time and should appoint coaches for both teams. Whoever takes on the roles are likely to receive solid financial support that previous coaches never enjoyed.
What will Britain's teams be like?
Should Andy Betts and Robert Archibald, both off DKV Joventut in Spain, Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls and Pops Mensah Bonsu (George Washington University) and Richard Midgley (University of California) all make themselves available, Britain will have a great foundation to build upon.
The side that won the bronze in Melbourne at the Commonwealth Games was an old one and included players like Newcastle Eagles player-coach Fab Flournoy, former NBA player John Amaechi, veteran Steve Bucknall and point guard Ronnie Baker.
None of those are expected to be in the men's team, but players like Andrew Sullivan and Julius Joseph are younger and will contend for places in the Britain team.
Women’s basketball in Britain had some questions answered by the English in Australia at the Commonwealth Games.
There looked to be a tremendous amount off raw talent and that is good news regarding Division B games.
New Zealand’s women were in a similar position before the Athens Olympics but with no greater talent than what Britain currently has, they reached the quarter-finals in Greece.
The British women will take on Estonia, Luxembourg, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Portugal in their Division B games.
By Jeff Taylor, PA Sport
The FIBA Europe Board which recently met in Madrid gave a thumbs-up for British teams to take part in Division B of the EuroBasket (for men) and EuroBasket Women over the next two years.
The long-term aim is for both the men’s and women’s teams to play at the London Olympics in 2012, but in order to take up places reserved for the host nations, basketball’s world governing body FIBA must be convinced Britain will have competitive teams.
FIBA will watch closely as the men and women attempt to win promotion from Division B to Division A, which would allow each to play in EuroBasket qualifying games.
Basketball has had to overcome numerous issues in Britain, from poor organisation and funding to bad coaching, but there should be no doubt about the quality of the athletes.
If Britain’s men can gather just some of their top players when they take on Slovakia, the Netherlands, Albania and Belarus, in Division B games this September, they will stand an excellent chance of winning all four games.
The Brits will ultimately need to finish top of the group after the 2007 games and then win a play-off against another group winner to advance to Division A.
England had some fine moments in Division A under former coach Laszlo Nemeth, beating teams like Slovenia and Latvia, two sides that always take part in EuroBasket finals, but Nemeth was alway undermined by poor organisation and a lack of resources.
Britain’s men and women cannot afford to waste any time and should appoint coaches for both teams. Whoever takes on the roles are likely to receive solid financial support that previous coaches never enjoyed.
What will Britain's teams be like?
Should Andy Betts and Robert Archibald, both off DKV Joventut in Spain, Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls and Pops Mensah Bonsu (George Washington University) and Richard Midgley (University of California) all make themselves available, Britain will have a great foundation to build upon.
The side that won the bronze in Melbourne at the Commonwealth Games was an old one and included players like Newcastle Eagles player-coach Fab Flournoy, former NBA player John Amaechi, veteran Steve Bucknall and point guard Ronnie Baker.
None of those are expected to be in the men's team, but players like Andrew Sullivan and Julius Joseph are younger and will contend for places in the Britain team.
Women’s basketball in Britain had some questions answered by the English in Australia at the Commonwealth Games.
There looked to be a tremendous amount off raw talent and that is good news regarding Division B games.
New Zealand’s women were in a similar position before the Athens Olympics but with no greater talent than what Britain currently has, they reached the quarter-finals in Greece.
The British women will take on Estonia, Luxembourg, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Portugal in their Division B games.
By Jeff Taylor, PA Sport