John Carroll's independent climb up the basketball ladder

 6’ 8” power forward John Carroll, who also has ‘threes’ in his locker, will be a key man when Ireland take on Switzerland in Fribourg tonight

Ireland's John Carroll goes for a basket despite the efforts of Renato Poljak, left, and Thomas Klepiesz of Austria during the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers First Round Group A match at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

JOHN Carroll (26) didn’t go to any of Ireland’s top basketball schools and never played for any vaunted domestic club.

He only took up the game at 12 and failed to even make a regional U14 squad in Dublin.