BOTH Belfast Star and Ulster University Elks men's teams were tossed out of their respective cup competitions last weekend, so repairs had to be done, not only to style of play but also to morale, before tackling league action again.
Star travel for their men's Super League clash with DCU Saints in Dublin, while Elks make the trip west to play EJ Sligo All-Stars in Division One. Two games that will really test the mettle of the northern men.
“Obviously, we are very disappointed at being put out of the cup by Moycullen, but the good thing about our game against DCU Saints is that our head coach Darren O'Neill is familiar with a number of the Saints players. Darren was coach of the Ireland U20 team last summer in the European Championship and a few of the Saints' players were in his squad,” says assistant-coach Danny Fulton.
”More support is needed in our team. Dillon [Stith] needs more support in scoring and we need more support on the boards. We didn't block out enough last Saturday. Rebounding wasn't good enough.”
Will Hooper, the English point guard who joined Star, has gone back home. After he arrived here he was injured during his residency qualifying period but after he became available to play he got injured again. After that, he decided to go home and fully recover.
Paddy McGaharan has been playing on the point, but that doesn't suit Star. McGaharan prefers another role and being point guard reduces his great scoring ability. Sean Quinn and Conor McElroy are promising young guards, but they need more experience. With only one league game won this season, Star badly need to get back to winning ways.
UU Elks were shocked at Dublin Lions and the losers know it was game they should have won: “We had the game back to one point with 28 seconds left and missed three chances of scores,” says coach Patrick O'Neill.
“We were missing a few players and Marty McDonald got into foul trouble early in the game, so that curbed his effectiveness. Now, we must travel to a Sligo team that has been turning in some great performances recently. They have been boosted by the inclusion of Mayo footballer Aidan O'Shea and, of course, they also have former Mayo star Ronan McGarrity in the team. Both Mayo men are great basketball players.
“This is certainly a tough game for us and a test of character. We need to get back on track. Maree, Sligo and us are the three top teams in the Northern Conference and we cannot afford any slip-ups.”
Dublin Lions, boosted by their shock cup victory, are at home to LYIT Donegal, also in men's Division One, on Sunday. It's a game that both sides need to win to keep in touch with the top three in their division. The Letterkenny side has been showing promise and will make things difficult for the Dubs.
Elks women are, also, away from home in Division One as they make the long trek to Limerick to face the UL Huskies. Quite a journey and quite a task for the UU girls, despite their sound performance against Ulster Rockets, last Sunday.
The Rockets are idle this weekend.
