6’10 Josh Fowler leads Glamorgan Gladiators in Wales!

2008 USA Select basketball Tour player, Josh Fowler, is leading the Glamorgan Gladiators in Wales to one of clubs best seasons! Sean Kilmartin, GM of USA Select Basketball was pleased see him sign with Steve Williams. Coach Williams was the coach of USA Select founding partner David Lawrence during his outstanding professional career. Coach Williams was also the coach of Sean Kilmartin’s oldest son, Ryan, while playing in the European Championships this past summer. Josh has been scoring 20+ for the Gladiators on regular outings.

USA Select’s Russell Jordan is helping BBL power Leicester Riders!

Russell Jordan, the 6’5” combo guard is enjoying his first season in the British Basketball League (BBL). Originally signed by the Reading Rockets of the EBL (arranged by USA Select’s Sean Kilmartin), Russell found a home with BBL member Riders. This is the 40th year of the Leicester Riders. USA Select partner, Ricky Pitts is a former Rider himself! The versatile Jordan regularly scores double figures.

USA Select Basketball’s Dustin Bevard lead’s Arrows to big EBL Victory!

In a phone call with Sheffield Arrows coach, Peter Kelly, USA Select GM was told of Arrows major upset of previously unbeaten Worthing Thunder. The dynamic duo of USA Select Basketball players Dustin Bevard and Brennan Martin helped defeat the depleted Worthing Thunder who were with out another USA Select player; Demetrious Scott. Scott, the teams’ heart and sole was out due to a severe ankle sprain and was unable to help his team remain undefeated. Teaming up for 40 points the 6’10 “ Bevard and former U Mass star Brennan were too much. The Worthing Thunder are consistently one of the top teams in the entire league and are rarely beaten. With Scott out, the Arrows took the opportunity to boost their position.

Versatile Chucky Frierson doing it all in Finland!

Playing in the highly competitive Finnish 1st Division Chucky Frierson, a member of Sean Kilmartin’s 2008 European Tour is showing his all round worth averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds. The 6’6” combo guard can play 1-4 and it a total basketball player! Wile on tour, Chucky was a highly sought after player because of the overall basketball versatility he showed. Represented by Adam Prossin (Prossin Sports Management), Chucky was a favorite on the team because of his warm and friendly attitude.

Ryan Kilmartin plays for Welsh basketball team during the 2007 European Championships

SPECIAL REPORT

Ryan Kilmartin, son of USA Select founder Sean Kilmartin; recently played in the 18 Under European Basketball Championships in Cardiff Wales. The event was Group C of FIBA Europe. FIBA is the world wide governing body of the various basketball leagues and competitions. Ryan was the only American player in the entire event. Below is an article from the Charlotte Observer

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007
Posted on Sun, Aug. 05, 2007 by BERNIE PETIT

It’s always special when an athlete gets the opportunity to represent his country.

For Charlotte Catholic’s 16 year old Ryan Kilmartin, the opportunity to play for Wales in the 18-under European Basketball Division C Championships last month was twice as nice.

Kilmartin, born in North Carolina, was able to play for the Wales team because his mother, Jane, a former Miss Wales, was born in the country, meaning he has dual citizenship.

Such a rare opportunity wasn’t lost on Kilmartin, a rising junior at Catholic.

“I had a chance to put on a country’s uniform and play for my country, which was phenomenal,” said Kilmartin. “Plus, with being the only American in the tournament, it was like I was representing America as well.”

The championships were held July 16-21 in Wales. Wales finished 4-1 in the tournament, losing 86-62 in the finals to Scotland.

Kilmartin averaged a modest three points and one rebound for Wales, with his best outing — a four-point, three-rebound game — coming in a 103-36 blowout win over Azerbaijan.

Still, the experience afforded Kilmartin, who has only played one year of competitive basketball (for Catholic’s junior varsity team last season), ample opportunity to work on becoming a better player.

He arrived in Wales 10 days before the tournament to work out and practice with his teammates. The schedule included hour long shooting sessions in the morning and evenings, rigorous practices that focused on fundamental play and numerous film study sessions.

It also gave him a greater respect of the basketball that’s played outside of the United States.

“There are great basketball players all over the world,” he said.

His teammates didn’t have any preconceived notions of him as an American player, he said.

“The only way they thought of me was as another player trying to help them win a championship,” Kilmartin said.

The biggest difference he said he noticed between American players and their European counterparts is in fundamental play.

“They’re working on lay ups and jump shots while we’re busy doing crossovers and mixed tape dunks,” he said. “They’re keeping it simple and trying to get the job done.”

Keeping things simple also describes Kilmartin’s style of play, which is perhaps one reason he fit in so well with his teammates.

The 6-foot-4 forward played both forward positions and center for the Catholic JV squad last year and served as a primary ball handler in crucial situations. He was one of the top scorers and rebounders on his team and almost always made the right decision with the ball, said coach Dick Mazoyer.

“He knew how to make good judgments with his passing skills and shot selection,” Mazoyer said.

Much of Kilmartin’s basketball savvy comes from playing with his dad, Sean, who played for coach Bobby Cremins and Kevin Cantwell at Appalachian State and played then professionally in Europe for three seasons, where he averaged nearly 27 points and 16 rebounds per outing.

The elder Kilmartin has been an assistant coach for the Cougars JV team the past two seasons. But the two haven’t really played hoops in the driveway since Ryan’s eighth-grade year, when a game became so competitive that Ryan broke his right wrist.

“After that I stopped playing him because I didn’t want to hurt him,” the younger Kilmartin quipped.

Sean Kilmartin was an assistant coach at Holy Trinity Middle School while Ryan was a student there and an assistant JV coach at Catholic Ryan’s freshman year. Despite his dad’s presence, he didn’t make a school team until this past season.

His dad has been and remains the biggest basketball influence in his life, he said.

“Everything,” he said, “from the littlest thing to the biggest thing, I’ve learned from my dad.”

USA Select Basketball members lead league statistics, yet again.

USA Select Basketball General Manager, Sean Kilmartin released the final statistics for the prestigious England Basketball League (EBL) Division 1. This is a FIBA recognized league and is associated with England Basketball.

For the third consecutive year, the league leading scorer is a product of USA Select Basketball. The league leading scorer was Appalachian State University product, Chris McFarland. The athletic and amiable 6’5″ swing man averaged an astounding 29.16 points per game! Playing for the Sheffield Arrows, McFarland also chose his shots wisely and was listed 4th in field goal percentage, shooting a tough 58% and was 10th in the league in free throw percentage! An unselfish player, he also was ranked 7th in the league in assists, and to round out his game, he averaged 8th in defensive rebounds at nearly 6 per game and ranked 4th in blocked shots

This makes the third consecutive league leading scorer that has played for the Sheffield Arrows and was a product of the USA Select Basketball pipeline! This is also the second leading scorer in the EBL that has come from Appalachian State University. (Noah Brown lead the league in 2005-2006)

Not to be out done, USA Select player Clint Deas proved to be the best big man in the league! Clint, a 6’8″ powerful post player was also a teammate of McFarland at the NCAA division 1, Appalachian State University. They teamed up to play for head coach Pete Kelly at Sheffield. When it came to inside players, Clint league the league in every possible rebounding statistic. Total rebounds per game (19) Defensive rebounds (13) Offensive rebounds (6).

In addition, the well rounded Deas lead the league in blocked shots and was the league leader in field goal percentage, shooting an incredible 63%! In addition, the experienced big man dished out enough assist to be 6th in the league!

While in college, both players played under the guidance of Houston Fancher of Appalachian State University.

USA Select and Davidson College product, Lawrence “Puff” Summers, proved to be one of the leagues best point guards. While playing for Coach James Bramfield with the Kings Lynn Fury. Listed in the top ten of 4 different categories, Summers was 3rd in the league in assists, 5th in steals, 6th in 3 point % and 2nd in Free Throw %!

According to Sean Kilmartin, ” I was pleased to see the final statistics. All 3 of these players came from top university programs and coach’s (Bob McKillop and Houston Fancher), so I knew what they could do. Sheffield has always taken our players and allowed them to blossom. I have gotten a lot of calls for these guys now that the season has ended. Clint was such a power on the boards, he played smart and was unselfish. Chris, who scored at will; is one of the most likable players in recent history, as coach Kelly said, ‘he was a true superstar off the court!’,”

“With Puff” (Summers) , continued Kilmartin, “Kings Lynn got a smart and hard working leader who simply wanted a chance!”

Ben Bridges Named Irish Super League Center of the Year 2007

Also wins All-Irish Super League Honorable Mention for 2007

2007 USA Select Player Ben Bridges was named Irish Super League Center of the Year. Ben, who played his college ball at Stetson and then Elizabeth City State University was a fundamentally sound, back to the basket player on the 2007 European Exposure Tour team.

Playing for the Shamrock Rovers Hoops in the top league in Ireland, the Nivea Super league, Ben had an outstanding year.

While on tour, General Manager, Sean Kilmartin personally contacted several teams to watch Ben play. Coach’s came to watch him play and offer Ben a contract while on Tour. In fact, Ben had one of the best traveled days in USA Select history having eaten breakfast in France, Lunch in England and then diner in Ireland all on the same day! Sean Kilmartin personally handled the details of Ben’s first contract!

Completing his first professional season with the Shamrock Rovers, Ben ended with 23.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game!

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USA Select Basketball Dynamic Duo Put up some Big Stats

Chris Mc Farland and Clint Deas put up some incredible games.

Former Appalachian State University teammates, Chris Mc Farland and Clint Deas,now playing for the Sheffield Arrows in the EBL (English Basketball League) have put up some incredible games recently in their first professional season. In a telephone interview with USA Select General Manager Sean Kilmartin, Sheffield Coach Peter Kelly was full of enthusiasm for the pair.

“Chris is a Super Star in every aspect of life. The crowd love him, the kids love him. He always has time for everyone. People are always amazed at his personality and warmth. He is simply a Super Star. He may be one of the most loved players in our history!” Chris is also doing it on the court. His recent weekend of matches included a 32 point outing on Saturday and a 43 point effort on Sunday. He is averaging in excess of 32 points per game.

Clint Deas is simply the best rebounder I have ever seen” quoted Kelly. He is averaging in excess of 20 rebounds per game this year an his best was 34 rebounds in one game. Hearing this stats definitely makes USA Select’s Sean Kilmartin proud. As a former Appalachian State University player himself is always a little partial to his Mountaineers. As soon as Kilmartin finished the interview, he immediately called ASU Coach, Houston Fancher to share the update with him. The impressive numbers was no surprise to Fancher. ” These two men are talented and hard working, they were a big part of the success of our program when they were here.

USA Select’s Shawan Robinson goes for 32 points in big win!

Former Clemson University star and top ACC player, Shawan Robinson, goes a point a minute in big victory with Newcastle. In a hard fought match against BBL league leaders Milton Keynes. With an incredible all round performance of 32 points on 13 / 19 shooting. The Newcastle Eagles are coached by one of Europe’s most respected leaders,Fab Flourney. Acting as a player coach, Flourney does not tell his players what to do, he shows them.

Shawan’s final stat line was: 13/19 shoots, 3/5 3 point shooting, 3/3 free throws, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 steal all in only 31 minutes. “These numbers look like his fathers kind of Stats”, quoted USA Select GM Sean Kilmartin. Shawan’s father is former Appalachian State University All Time great, Darryl Robinson.

Shawan is also a very unique player as he was also one of only 4 players in the history of the ACC to Academic All Conference all 4 years in school.

USA Select Basketball announces player contract signings for 2006 /2007

Former ASU teammates sign with same EBL team!

USA Select Basketball General Manager Sean Kilmartin announced today that former Appalachian State University teammates; Clint Deas and Chris McFarland have agreed to terms with the Sheffield Arrows of the English Basketball League (EBL) . The Sheffield Arrows have wanted these two players for quite a while according to Kilmartin. The Arrows, one of the consistently top teams in the EBL, will need to replace some firepower, as last years leading scorer, Noah Brown has moved on. (Brown, also a former Mountaineer was a teammate of Deas and McFarland while at ASU and was the EBL leading scorer in his first professional season, is now currently entertaining other offers).

MFarland (6’5″) was the 26th player in the history of ASU to record over 1000 points in a career and lead the Mountaineers in scoring 5 of the first 7 games of his senior season. Deas (6’8″) was the teams leader in field goal percentage, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and total rebounds.

Mr. Kilmartin (a former ASU Mountaineer basketball players from 80-84) noted that the players will be going to a team run by Mr. Peter Kelly, one of the games true gentlemen. Mr. Kelly and Mr. Kilmartin have been friends for quite a while and were please to see these Mountaineers join the Arrows. According to Mr. Kelly; ” …my success with players from Appalachian State and Coach Houston Fancher has been tremendous, keep them coming!”