Great Britain Under-20 coaches make first cuts

Great Britain’s Under-20 coaches have made their initial roster cuts in the build-up to their summer EuroBasket Division B Championship campaigns.

Following four days of assessment at a joint camp in Manchester, the squads have been cut leaving 16 players in the men’s side and 15 in the women’s, who will continue to fight for places for the upcoming friendlies.

Aside to the mainstream tactical and performance objectives of training camps, the combined workout was designed build a culture for future GB senior teams, goals integral to success going forward.

For the duration of the camp both genders are training side-by-side and receive off court medical screening and education about the performance pathways to senior representation.

Men’s under-20 Head Coach Tim Lewis said: “The standard of players is higher than it was last year, maybe a little bit smaller, therefore we are looking at different ways of playing and what suits us. If the team buys into what we are doing it will be a really exciting summer ahead of us.

“We have four weeks and five test-games scheduled to get ourselves ahead of the game and if we can do that we put ourselves in a decent position for the EuroBasket Championships. Exciting stuff! “

Women’s counterpart Damian Jennings is happy with progress so far.

“One aspect I have been really pleased with is the player chemistry,” he said. “It can sometimes take three to four days to get chemistry but from day one this large squad of 20 players have been talking and creating a buzz which is fantastic and really refreshing to see.”

As part of their preparation the under-20 men’s team played two practice games against the Scotland under-23 team. Game 1 was closely contested with GB claiming a 83-72 victory, but it was Game 2 where GB came into their own with a comprehensive 81-52 win.

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GB U20 men’s squad:
Lawrence, Andrew – University of Charlotte
Noel, Levi – Notre Dame Prep School
Van Oustrum, Nigel – Franklin Pierce University
Marcotullio, Alex – Northwestern University
Stannard, Jack – Bridtol Flyers
Thompson, Jack – Milton Keynes Lions
Hesson Myles – Bormingham A’s
Gilchrist, Robert – Worcester Academy
Martin, Ryan – Westminster Warriors
Anderson, Jamel – Essex Pirates
Thompson, May Raheem – Quinnipiac University
Neighbor, Will – Daytona Junior College
Soko, Ovie – UAB
Hall, Will – Deerfield Academy
Rolls Tyson, Josh – Birmingham University
McKay, Ali – Essex Pirates

GB U20 women’s squad:
Avery, Nicky - UWIC Archers
Barroilhet, Tamzin - Bourges
Buchan, Mairi - Old Dominion University
Durojaye, Mary - Robert Morris University
Joseph, Kashmere - Seton Hall University
Shaw, Hannah - University of Miami
Stoddart, Charlotte - Manchester Mystics
Shiels, Kristie – Leeds Carnegie
Chiemeka, Katrin – Davidson
Clark, Ella – Barking Abbey
Busch, Renee - Sevenoaks Suns
Brough, Rebecca – UWIC Archers
Taylor Kathryn – Kent Prep School
Allison, Rebecca – Old Dominion
Jones, Georgia – Oral Roberts