New Ireland head coach says 'door will always be open' for Claire Melia as she opts out of qualifiers

New Ireland head coach Thomas Garlepp, who lives in his native Australia, met the players for the first time in person this week

Ireland play Iceland, Azerbaijan, and Switzerland this month but will do so without Claire Melia. Pic: ©INPHO/James Lawlor

Ireland women’s basketball head coach Thomas Garlepp is hopeful that Claire Melia will rejoin the squad for the next window of qualifiers after the Monasterevin woman opted out of the three games in EuroBasket qualifying this month.

“We had a good chat, a couple of good chats. The door will always be open for a talent like that, a person like that. She made the decision not to play and that was totally fine. To be honest, I didn’t really make it a thing where we delved too much into it. The door is open and I look forward to hopefully coaching her in the future,” said Garlepp.