PAUL CUMMINS WILL admit himself that he fortunate to have enjoyed such a successful career — but not because he lacked ability.
“I had talent but I was lucky to get seen,” says the former Ireland international. “There are lots of good basketball players in Ireland but they need to be lucky to be spotted.”
Like a lot of Irish children, the Kildare native got involved with football and GAA growing up. Being particularly “tall and gangly” from a young age, however, he took up basketball in sixth class and fell in love with the game almost immediately.
Called up to the Ireland squad at U16 level, Cummins caught the eye of a European-based scout and accepted a two-year scholarship to Ravenscroft High School in North Carolina.
After prep school in Connecticut where he played alongside future NBA players at the South Kent School, it was on to Pennsylvania’s Lafayette College — where he would become starting shooting guard for their NCAA Division 1 team, and finished one of the top 3-point shooters in Lafayette’s history.
“I loved every second of it,” he explains. “My job was to catch and shoot. I wanted to play professionally but wasn’t nearly good enough or tall enough for the NBA.”
The next place he called home was the Scottish capital after joining the Edinburgh Kings in 2009. There, he claimed a league and cup double as well as Scottish Import Player of the Year and the league’s top scoring honours.
The University of Ulster then gave him the chance to continue his career in Belfast while earning his second masters and, subsequently, his PhD investigating Leadership in Sports and Business Organisations.
At the age of 27, a persistent knee injury forced him to retire and in 2013 he decided to use his time to help the next generation of Irish basketball player coming through by setting up Sport Dream Academy with the tagline: “Get your game noticed”.
“The first thing I wanted to do was to get exposure for players,” he replies, when asked about the main aims of SDA.
The second is to really show Irish kids what it is like to be at an elite level camp. It’s fair to say that the general standard of basketball coaching in Ireland is not where it should be.
“The third thing was to bring the best players together to compete through a nocel ‘Invitational Camp’ structure. I’m a firm believer that if you really want to push your game you have to be playing against the best players possible.”
As well as a local academy in Kildare, SDA hold an annual invitational camp which caters for the best young players in the country every August. American coaches are flown in and the focus is on skill development, strength & conditioning and sports psychology.
Basketball Ireland have happily come on board and supported this performance initiative for the first time this year.
Each participant also gets a personal highlights video from camp, which is circulated to coaches around the world via the SDA YouTube channel.
Of all the kids that have come through the ranks over the past two years, he points to Dublin teenager John Carroll as one of the stand-out success stories. An initial move to the US didn’t work out due to injury, so the youngster’s mother came to Cummins for advice.
“She said he is going to have to come home and repeat his Leaving Cert and I said bring him to the SDA Invitational camp.
“He is an exceptional player and worked really hard with us. He won MVP in the camp and we connected him to a network of coaches along with the rest of the camp athletes.”
With SDA’s help John earned a place in prep school and led the team to their first state championship. That resulted in a full scholarship at the University of Hartford.
“He’s doing really well and is currently starting as a freshman this year,” Cummins explains.
“My modus operandi is first and foremost about player development, but also to be able to have a structure to develop players and give them an elite experience. If they’re good enough, which John was, it is possible to facilitate the guy’s dream. It makes me so happy.”
SDA also provides Irish athletes and parents with a much-needed education on the intricate scholarship process and how it works.
When I ask Cummins for his thoughts on the current state of basketball in Ireland, he maintains that it is not where it should be. Why is that…?
“The fundamentals are not taught properly at grassroots level. By that, I mean footwork, defensive principals, passing, shooting and ball-handling. They are the basics that they need to be learning between the ages of 7-13.
“There is no structure in place now to facilitate that and as a result there are good athletes in Ireland but they are way below the par as far as basketball skills go.
You look at a country like Lithuania. Now I know basketball is their first sport, but they have a population similar to ours and they are one of the top four or five teams in the world.
“I also think the standard of coaches is not great on a macro-level. There are a couple of exceptional coaches in the country and we are lucky to have them, but in general I don’t think the standard is wonderful.
“In Ireland, we tend not to look at the bigger picture. The focus is more parochial. Can my school team win and beat the local rival? There is a division between schools and clubs, instead of working together and trying to develop players as the primary goal.
A lot of coaches, especially at youth level, are more concerned with winning and losing. I don’t think it’s all about participation either, but we should be focused on skill mastery as opposed to doing whatever you can to beat the other ‘U11 team’ for example. There is no sustainable growth in that model.”
Through the work of SDA, he is aiming to buck that trend.
For more information, visit their website sda.ie or their Facebook page
Originally published at 07.00
This is a poorly managed Cork team with a ref that has given them nothing and they find themselves level against supposedly the fourth best team in the country, imagine what they might do with good management support and fair break from the refree.
@John Carroll: if they’re bringing the supposedly fourth best team in Ireland to extra time the management can’t be that bad? Or are you saying both Mayo and Cork are just shit teams?
@Kevin Gallagher: well two poor teams but the ref was shocking
@Tim Brennan: was it? What major incidents did he get wrong?
@Kevin Gallagher: take a look at killian o connors pull back on cadogan and he knew he would have to black carded him and considered his contribution to the scoreboard it would have limited Mayo all in all Kerry will hammer the winner . Football refs are completely inconsistent and that’s the problem. What he gave as frees for mayo he ignored for Cork. Cork got one free inside the 35 meter line
@Tim Brennan: I don’t disagree that refs are inconsistent, but that wasn’t why Cork lost the game. They had plenty of goal chances to
finish Mayo off in normal time. Also, you could argue back and forth all evening on what the ref got right or wrong for Mayo and Cork. He missed Keegan being pulled back before his trip for a black card (and rightly should’ve been black carded), etc etc.
Also, you can’t seriously argue that Mayo are a shit team?
@Kevin Gallagher: clearly Mayo are not a shite team but I don’t believe this team is capable of winning an all Ireland. They have been robbed of their chance to win and refs in gaa favour the top teams as their ultimate prize is the ref an all ireland- and you know full well that poor refs have cost Mayo dearly. Cork have no excuses and a management that put Alan o Connor on the field tells everything about their vision
For cork football – he gave away 2 needless frees and could not run
@Kevin Gallagher:What i am saying is Cork should be well capable of beating Mayo who are supposedly the fourth best team around and with better management they could do it.For starters Alan o connor has been a huge servant to Cork football but only a group of idiots would have him on a senior inter county panel at this stage of his career.I could go on and on but why bother ….
Referee keeping Mayo players on the pitch here…….
@IrishOwl: I don’t know how Keegan managed to stay on there.
@Dave Murray: cork footballers shafted by a northern ref again
Blew up early
@Timmy O Sullivan: As a neutral I thought the officials were very harsh on Cork the whole game.
@John Kinsella: I second that. Seemed to be a lot harder for cork to get frees
Should be easy for Mayo. A 5 point victory I predict.
Jesus, I’m a mayo supporter and I don’t know if I’m that confident! I think if we take cork for granted we could get punished!
@Dec: Southern opposition often pose problems for Mayo but Mayo should have enough to beat the Cork buys
@Enda McCallion: not that easy so far
Why is it not on TV?
@Hello there friend: It was on Sky
Hope Cork can finish it in extra time. Great stuff so far being the under dogs. Go on the rebels.
Great effort from cork but that ref was atrocious.
Free streams ?
Cork should have won in 70 minutes, missed some gilt-edged chances. Fancy Mayo to finish stronger in the extra time. Great game for the neutral.
What a match. I’d say both sets of players are wrecked.
I don’t disagree but Mayo could say the same thing after leading by 7. To be fair, corks first goal was savage, I’m relieved more than happy after that win
One thing i will say, Mayo are brilliant supporters. Huge numbers follow the team around. That was a very poor turnout for the Cork footballers, those lads deserve better.
Ref won it for mayo
Don’t disagree but I’ve seen it go the other way for us. Might not be as lucky the next game. Need to up our game in a massive way. Will make it no more than the semi’s this year though(if we up our game!!)
Cork doing ok so far up to HT, and are unlucky to be three behind .I suppose it would have been crazy to expect anything from the refree as some of his calls have been poor and mainly against Cork.If they are to stay in this game they will have to push up and are very likely to be caught at the back then.
What tv channel is it on ?
A hope and a prayer for Cork.
Mayo are gone
@Colm Buckley: back in front
@Colm Buckley:
Gone through to the next round it seems
Well done to both teams.
Big crowd there ….around 45 thousand I’d say. A day that will resonate through the ages
@John Ryan: What?
Can’t see anything other than a Mayo win
The myth of David Clarke continues. His kickouts continue to be a liability. Best keeper in the land my arse.
Mayo forwards’ shooting has been excellent. Gotta love Andy Moran – absolute legend. Not sure how Cork are still in this, offering up far too many chances.
@Camroc: Not sure what your watching kid but both teams at the very least deserved a second day out.
@John Carroll: Did you reply to the wrong comment?
That was at 7 down and playing awful. Fair play to them they are putting a great show. Hope they win it
What channel is it on?
@Maurice Cott: sky sports arena 408
Well done mayo
The untouchable ref rode the arse off Cork and his love in with Aidan o Shea – Gaa ref are unbelievably bad
Brannigan is as bad at referring as he is at doing linesman!
36 mins in and cork already half way through their subs
Jesus… are they wearing slippers or what ???? FFS. Change em !!!!!
If we (cork) win this, is it defo the rossies next?
Kerrigan is a liability and cork are lame ducks
Why wasn’t it on tv
@Hello there friend: it was on sky
looks like this is running away from cork
Jesus cork are dirt
@ryan o sullivan: ???
K