Six foot 10 Conor Grace says: 'Yes, I play basketball'

At 6 ft 10, Conor Grace stands out. Not because he’s Steph Curry’s old college buddy at Davidson. Or that he’s survived the flares and fanaticism that characterise Greek basketball. Or played in the mad heat of Malaysia where the owners were even madder. But because he’s been out there, making his way not as Tom Grace’s son, but as an achiever in his own right

LUNCHTIME in a small Dublin cafe, and Conor Grace is talking in detail about, well, little details, something of a recurring theme in one of the most distinctive and admirable, if unheralded, careers an Irish professional sportsperson of this millennium has had.

A few days out from a National Cup semi-final for Templeogue and the 33-year-old is explaining how as a rookie out of college, he was taken to the side in Italy by a former Chicago Bull called AJ Guyton. If he wanted to have a lengthy career as a pro, Guyton kindly suggested, his shot had to get quicker.