I’ve had the privilege of having a ball in my hand for as long as I can remember. From an early age, my older brother Jack, his closest friend Kiran and their teammates were my idols. I’d tag along to just about everything basketball related - whether they wanted me to or not. During timeouts and between quarters of their games, I’d scramble to get up as many shots as possible before the referees would have to chase me off the court. I’d wake the neighbours on Sunday mornings doing dribbling drills in the driveway. Every chance that I got, I had the ball in my hand.
My brother definitely paved the way for me in a basketball sense. The connections he made
through his constant success have brought people into my life that helped to make my dream of playing in the US a reality. On top of that, his work ethic and borderline unhealthy obsession with the game showed me what it took to reach the highest heights of basketball in Ireland. I’m forever grateful for him, but he knows that already!
Underage basketball was very good to me, providing me with coaches and friends who I remain very close with to this day; Ian Cotter and Pat Connolly in particular. On-court successes weren’t all that common from a team perspective. We were always one game short, or in many cases, one possession short of glory. (This still eats away at me to this day!) Having said that, the struggles made the victories all the sweeter.
One of the connections that I alluded to above goes by the name of Pat Price. Pat was the first coach who truly brought the best out of me in the U16 National Team setup. For a while, I didn’t even know what I was good at. I could do a bit of everything, but I wasn’t exceptional at anything either. Pat was the one who spotted that as my talent. I used my versatility to my
advantage throughout the two years of preparations. He empowered me to become hungry for more, and trusted me as his captain in Montenegro at the European Championships. Pat is a huge reason for me being at where I’m at today. At the U18 level, Paul Kelleher helped to take my game to the next level. I haven’t met someone more dedicated to the game of basketball as a whole. His work as a skill coach and as a tactician helped me to see the game in a different light. That summer spent working under Paul preceded my first year in America.
I attended The Phelps School in the suburbs of Philadelphia thanks to the help of The Westtown School’s associate head coach and former Fr Mathew’s coach, Paul Manning. It was an unconventional school - a converted farm actually, with around seventy male students in total. Half of us were basketball players, boasting two very strong teams at the school. Like most player’s experiences across the Atlantic, mine was a turbulent one. You have days where you’re riding high and you have days where you’d find yourself checking the price of the next flight home. By Christmas, I was in a dark place emotionally. My coach made me consider quitting entirely. He would make us run for hours and hours on end. I sat at the end of the bench, discarded as if I was of no significance. The dream looked like it was dead. My time there was rescued by a coaching staff change, spearheaded by the athletic director and new head coach, John Harmatuk. In the space of a week, I went from a bench warmer to leading the team in minutes on the way to a 15-0 finish to the season. I went from minimal college interest to receiving consistent calls and texts from coaches. One of my better performances came at the Metro Classic tournament where I was spotted by my current head coach, Joe Clinton. After a successful visit to their campus, I called my brother at 4AM Irish time, waking him to let him know that I finally got my first full scholarship offer to Dominican University. On top of that, I never had more fun in my life before playing Coach Tuk’s hundred-mile an hour, deep three-pointer, in-your-face basketball. I rediscovered my joy for the game and reimagined where it could take me.
This summer could not have been much better for me basketball-wise. I was fortunate enough to be selected alongside nine other guys studying and playing in America in Paudie Fleming’s U20 squad. Paudie has always been an excellent mentor, especially with the U20’s where he helped me to become a more consistent player. While I played the role of a backup in the games, it didn't bother me. Ireland were winning basketball games at the European
Championships. That was all that I cared about. Following a 5-1 record and some time with the family, I set off to New York to begin the next chapter of my basketball career.
I’m now in my freshman year here at Dominican University. where I’ve had nothing but positive experiences two months in. The college itself is relatively small, with the majority of students being athletes also. Days will begin to become more hectic in the coming weeks as we begin official training on a daily basis. It can be mentally challenging going from being towards the top of the rotation in high school right down to the bottom of the pecking order again. But, I’m embracing the challenge and looking to make the most of every session in order to work my way back up the ladder. We have a big year ahead where I’ll get to play two of my friends from home in Rap (Assumption University) and Sean (Felician University) before we travel to Las Vegas around Christmas time to compete against some top ranked schools nationally. Right now, I’m just taking it a day at a time, putting in the extra hours to become the best player and teammate possible ahead of a busy season and Irish team duties with the U20s once again next summer.
A big thanks to Mike O'Mahony for this piece. Mike is a regular contributor for Echolive.ie covering all things Cork basketball. Wishing him and fellow irishman Dáire Kennelly the best of luck this season with Dominican University
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