Luol Deng ready to make up for lost time as GB start Euro campaign

Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng is ready to put two years of frustration behind him and help Great Britain qualify for next summer's European Championships, according to the national team's captain Drew Sullivan.

Chris Finch's side begin their campaign tonight against Hungary in Szolnok with their most formidable asset back in the ranks after missing last summer through injury. With a number of seasoned performers suffering a similar fate this time, his return provides a massive boost to Britain's chances of featuring in the 2011 finals in Lithuania – and, in turn, persuading the sport's governing body FIBA to confirm their place in the London Olympics.

“I'm glad Luol's back,” said Sullivan. “Last summer he was around the team as much as he could and you could see how upset he was that he couldn't play at the Eurobasket finals, which is something we'd spent two years working towards. He was devastated that he'd helped us qualify and then, unfortunately, got hurt with the Bulls and didn't recover in time. From our perspective, we need him. We're a much better team with him.”

With Deng barred from featuring in any of GB's warm-up games due to an issue with his NBA-sponsored insurance, Finch has been forced to take an extended look at a number of younger faces with the Spanish-based centre Dan Clark and American collegiate prospect Matthew Bryan-Amaning seizing their opportunity to stake a claim.

“Potentially, if they do well, it will benefit us because it shows that we have depth,” Sullivan stated. “If someone decides to pull out through injury, we now have guys who can step up and take their place at short notice. And it also puts pressure on the older guys, or players who might pull out for less than legitimate reasons. They'll now know that they won't necessarily get back in.”

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Sullivan and Stewart set for Newcastle exit?

Reigning BBL champions Newcastle Eagles could be set to lose their two biggest names and force player-coach Fabulous Flournoy into a major re-building job.

It is understood that Great Britain captain Drew Sullivan is on the brink of joining Everton Tigers for next season after failing to strike a deal to remain on Tyneside.

Sullivan, who has also played in Cyprus and Russia, wants to remain in the UK and league sources confirmed that Everton are set to tempt him to Liverpool.

And he could be joined by former BBL MVP Lynard Stewart, who is also likely to reject a return to the Eagles.

According to a report in The Journal, the American forward is considering retirement in order to take up a teaching post in Philadelphia, where his family is based.

“Lynard hasn’t made a decision yet and I would love to have him back, but I know it’s going to be tough to get him back here,” Flournoy told the newspaper.

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Sullivan can spur Eagles title charge

Newcastle Eagles coach Fabulous Flournoy believes the return of Drew Sullivan to Tyneside can provide the missing line in his team’s silverware chase.
The reigning league champions have lured the Great Britain captain back for a third stint after he cut his short stint in Cyprus due to personal reasons.
With fellow GB star Flinder Boyd exiting to play for Spanish club Palencia, the revolving door has left the Eagles strengthened as they chase a potential treble.
And Flournoy, whose side has begun to hit top form, is relishing his additional weapon.
“It’s good to have Sulli back and we all know what he is capable of,” the New Yorker said. “He sets high standards and knows what is required to win trophies. He is the final piece of our jigsaw and he can deliver at both ends of the floor and will now bring even more experience, maturity and leadership to our team.
“While we all know he has talent, third time around we can expect him to have even more smarts than before and to be another leader in this team.
“We have to make sure that we maintain the chemistry that we have but that shouldn’t be a problem because Sulli works as hard as anybody and is a winner.”

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Sullivan remains GB captain

British Basketball officials have denied reports that Drew Sullivan has been stripped of the Great Britain captaincy and replaced by Luol Deng.

It followed a news release from the NBA's UK office that claimed Deng was now the team skipper, which was also reported by the Daily Telegraph.

"The process for captain selection is for Chris Finch to appoint at the beginning of each international season," said a British Basketball spokesperson. "It has always been this and will remain to be this, therefore at present it probably makes sense for any reference to the GB captain to be to Sullivan, as he was the 2009 captain.  

"Unfortunately it has previously been wrongly reported that Luol was the GB captain, but this was an assumption from both the NBA and the non-basketball press at various events."

Hope that makes sense.

GB stars still job hunting

With the domestic campaign starting tonight, it's still wait-and-see time for a number of Great Britain's internationals who are hunting for employment.

Captain Drew Sullivan, who played last season in Russia, remains without a club, as does starting point guard Flinder Boyd.

Most unlucky of all is reserve guard Steve Leven, who had agreed a two-year deal in the Spanish LEB, only for it to fall through when the club hit financial trouble.

The economy, it seems, is leaving no-one untouched.

Sullivan: we want to take on the world

Great Britain captain Drew Sullivan has called on basketball’s governing body, FIBA, to hand his team a wild-card entry into next year’s world championships in Turkey, in order to help his side to make an impact at the 2012 Olympic Games.

The failure of GB to advance past the first round of the European Championships wrecked their chances of automatic qualification. However FIBA sources in Poland confirmed that they will consider handing Britain a discretionary place when the 24-team entry list is finalised in December.

“From our standpoint, as a growing basketball team, we need to get as much experience as possible to get ready for 2012,” said Sullivan prior to the team’s departure from Warsaw. “We don’t want to go into the Olympics without being game ready and a place in Turkey would be a big help in that process. That’s why we went for a tough schedule in the lead-up to Eurobasket.

“We could have set it up to win more games than we did. Plus we didn’t have all our guys until the very end of the summer, without even talking about Luol Deng to come in once he’s fit again.” 

Sullivan happy to wear heart – and armband – on his sleeve

Great Britain captain Drew Sullivan believes his side can spring an upset at the Eurobasket finals and advance its credibility ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Chris Finch’s men have settled into their five-star hotel in Warsaw with minds now turning towards plotting a route through the first phase and the subsequent daunting challenges of Serbia and world champions Spain.

Sullivan, one of just three survivors from the start of the qualifying process in 2006, concedes Britain are the rank outsiders. However the belated inclusion of Houston Rockets forward Pops Mensah Bonsu sends a message that his team are on the rise.

“Pops came in late but he showed last year what a force he can be on the court,” Sullivan said. “He’s potentially as effective as any player in the finals. If you look at our front court, we have guys who have played at the highest levels in Europe and in the NBA. It’s not going to be easy against any of these teams but we feel there’s an opportunity to go in and show what we are capable of.”

The role of captain, he admits, is largely a ceremonial one, particularly with the arrival of the ever-loquacious Mensah Bonsu.

“Having him helps a lot,” Sullivan acknowledges. “He’s a really vocal person. I’ll do my leadership by example by talking to guys on the court. But with Pops here, we’ll get leadership from him and me.

“I’m not a talker. I try to lead by example, playing hard. I understand there are guys who have specific roles that aren’t what they normally do so I try to make them feel more comfortable by giving them support. The way I play during the season is very different to the national team. You make sacrifices which can be difficult at times but that’s a great challenge for all of us.”