| 10.7°C Dublin

Puff Summers’ Basketball Diary: ‘Mark fired me before but we have a wonderful relationship now’

Basketball Diaries: A player’s view of a season in the Super League

Lawrence 'Puff' Summers in action for Templeogue during the season's first game against Kev Hughes of DCU St. Vincent's. Photo by: Daniel Tutty/Sportsfile Expand

Close

Lawrence 'Puff' Summers in action for Templeogue during the season's first game against Kev Hughes of DCU St. Vincent's. Photo by: Daniel Tutty/Sportsfile

Lawrence 'Puff' Summers in action for Templeogue during the season's first game against Kev Hughes of DCU St. Vincent's. Photo by: Daniel Tutty/Sportsfile

Lawrence 'Puff' Summers in action for Templeogue during the season's first game against Kev Hughes of DCU St. Vincent's. Photo by: Daniel Tutty/Sportsfile

Lawrence 'Puff' Summers

It was tough to see a great talent like DJ Mitchell leave us just before our second league game of the season, but I totally understand it.

DJ had originally come over from the States to play for Templeogue and do a master’s in Griffith College, before Limburg from the Netherlands came knocking on his door.

He must have thought: ‘You know what? I already finished five years of college in America, maybe I should go make a little money and do a master’s later.’

That’s fair enough. He will have a chance to make good money in the Netherlands and put his name out there.

Even though we know that can happen when you bring in American professionals to Ireland, we’re still sad to see him go.

Although, it hasn’t always been this way.

There were lots of Americans getting fired when I came first came here 15 years ago because Super League teams thought they weren’t up to standard.

I remember my first side, Ballina, and the other American had got in on a Thursday, practised that day and Friday. He played a horrible game on a Saturday, and then was on a plane home on Monday.

I felt I was next! It was that cut-throat.

With all the college scholarship programmes nowadays, not as many Americans are getting sent home like that. So even if you suck on the court, you kind of need to stay to do your schooling.

Sport Newsletter

Get the best analysis and comment from our award-winning team of writers and columnists with our free newsletter.

This field is required

I’ve also been fired and it’s not nice.

My current coach, Mark Keenan, fired me three weeks before my wedding in 2011 when he came to UL, because I wasn’t the American he needed there at the time.

It was the lowest of the low because I thought I was a mainstay in Ireland, I was settled here and thought I passed that part of my career, but it still happened.

Since then, I've always been looking over my shoulder, it kept me working hard all these years, and if I have a bad game now, I think, ‘Oh s***, is this it?’

It’s funny because I ended up having a wonderful relationship with Mark, having now been six years at Templeogue and I’m his assistant coach with the Irish national team.

So, whenever he gets on his high horse, I like to tease him about the time he had me in tears three weeks before my wedding, just to bring him back to reality.

The two of us are looking forward to a game of cat and mouse tomorrow away to Belfast Star, which is headed up by Mark’s other Irish assistant coach, Adrian Fulton.

We go there after winning our first two league games – thankfully we’d a few more fans back in the National Basketball Arena against Éanna last Saturday, which was amazing.

We’ll need more than the crowd’s support this week because Adrian knows exactly how we both think from our time together in the Ireland team.

It won’t stop me plotting a course to victory while I drive up from my house in Kilkenny before meeting the rest of team in Dublin for the Belfast trip.

Adrian and I were both joking about doing scouting reports for the game during our Ireland team Zoom call on Wednesday night.

I hope we’ll be the ones still laughing when we drive back down the motorway.

WEEKEND FIXTURES

SATURDAY

Men’s Super League – Ballincollig v NUIG Maree, Ballincollig Community School, 4.0; Belfast Star v Templeogue, De La Salle College, 6.30; DBS Éanna v DCU Saints, Coláiste Éanna, 7.0; Killorglin v Moycullen BC, Killorglin Sports Complex, 7.15; Tralee Warriors v Neptune, Tralee Sports Complex, 7.30.

Women’s Super League – Trinity Meteors v WIT Waterford Wildcats, Trinity Sports Hall, 2.30; IT Carlow Basketball v Liffey Celtics, Barrow Centre, 3.30; Fr Mathews v Brunell, Fr Mathews Arena, 5.0; Glanmire v Killester, Upper Glanmire Sports Hall, 5.0.

Men’s Division 1 – Drogheda Wolves v LYIT Donegal, Ballymakenny College, 3.30; Titans v Ulster University, Ballinfoile Centre, 6.0; Dublin Lions v Tolka Rovers, Coláiste Bríd, 7.15; Limerick Celtics v Limerick Sport Eagles, St Munchin's College, 7.15; Fr Mathews v UCC Demons, Fr Mathews Arena, 7.45.

Women’s Division 1 – Limerick Celtics v NUIG Mystics, St Munchin’s, 5.0; Limerick Sport Huskies v Marble City Hawks, UL Arena, 5.0; Phoenix Rockets v Swords Thunder, Lisburn Racquets Club, 6.30; Portlaoise Panthers v Tipperary Knights, St Mary's Hall, 7.0; Templeogue v LYIT Donegal, Nord Anglia International School, 7.30.

SUNDAY

Women’s Super League – DCU Mercy v St Mary's, DCU Arena, 2.30.

Women’s Division 1 – Ulster University v Limerick Celtics, UUJ, 6.15.

MONDAY

Women’s Super League – Liffey Celtics v Glanmire, Leixlip Amenities Centre, 12.0; WIT Waterford Wildcats V IT Carlow, Mercy SS Waterford, 1.0; Brunell v DCU Mercy, Parochial Hall, 2.30; St Mary's v Trinity Meteors, Castleisland CC, 3.0; Killester v Fr Mathews, IWA Clontarf, 3.0.

WEDNESDAY

Women’s Division 1 – Phoenix Rockets v LYIT Donegal Women, Lisburn Racquets Club, 8.0.

Privacy