Price: let’s amalgamate SuperLeague conferences
Speaking at the launch of the new season at the NBA in Tymon Park, he recalled that when he came to Ireland back in 1998 to coach UCC Demons, there were 14 teams in the SuperLeague and one single conference.
This year the SuperLeague has been reduced to nine teams following the departure of Notre Dame/Hoops – once the powerhouse of Irish basketball. They were the most recent casualties following Ballina, St Paul’s Killarney, Tralee Tigers and Tolka Rovers.
“The time has come to reexamine it,” he said. “There is no reason to hold on to two separate conferences when there are four teams in the Southern Conference. It doesn’t add up.”
Price was accompanied at yesterday’s launch by Neptune’s new US signing – 6’7” power forward, Robinson Louisme from Fort Myers, Florida. Tomorrow they open their campaign at home to Danny Fulton’s Belfast Star.
“We are trying to see where we go from last year,” Price said. “We’ve got a lot of new faces and we are still in rebuilding mode. We have had a lot of pre-season and off-season injuries that we are hoping won’t have a long-term effect on us – losing Mark Mitchell in a car accident was a blow.
“But the ideas haven’t changed. We’ve got a core group of players in leadership – guys like Michael McGinn, Ger Noonan, Ian McLaughlin and Gary Walsh – guys can drive on from where it was last year.”
UL Eagles already have silverware on the sideboard after winning the Stuart Robbins Memorial Tournament and their new coach, Mark Bernsen, can’t wait to get their campaign under way.
He knows what the SuperLeague is all about after coaching Tralee Tigers to the final back in 2008 before returning prematurely to the US.
“I went away and it took me maybe two days to realise I’d made a mistake,” he said. “Fortunately I got a chance to come back.”
Eagles have a new American, 22-year-old Cameron Mitchell from Oregon who, according to the coach, is growing into their game alongside experienced players like Stephen King, Rob Lynch, Kieran White, Neil Campbell and Matt Hall and they also have an exciting new addition in Carlton Cuffe from Cork.
11890 Killester, who won everything last season, begin their campaign away to Moycullen while 2009 champions, UCC Demons, will be the focus of attention when they entertain Ulster Elks at the Mardyke Arena on Sunday afternoon.
This year they have a “homegrown” coach in Paul Kelleher. A former Irish underage coach, he has been assistant SuperLeague coach for many years and has a wealth of experience.
His first big move was the signing of a new American, Marcus Van from Central Michigan University.
The start of the new season will usher in a new era for Irish basketball according to Basketball Ireland chairman. Paul Meany, who said they are handing Irish basketball back to the grassroots.
“The last year proved very difficult. There were a number of years of losses – financially we had overstretched a bit – so we had to pull back very quickly including very difficult decisions about staffing levels, about international programmes, about a number of things that we just couldn’t do.
“We have a new board, we are going to get this new Council of Basketball Ireland which is going to representative of all the threads within the sport.
“It will be led by the president, Timmy Murphy from Cork. He hopes to be able to get all those groups together and plan for the future. We have new sponsors coming in – we need more – overall we feel the future is bright.”
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