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Cork basketballer Mike O'Mahony settling in New York after a difficult start

EchoLive.ie, 14 Jun

Fr Mathew's graduate took time to adjust to the athleticism in the

States

Cork basketballer Mike O'Mahony settling in New York after a difficult

start

Cork Basketball: Mike O’Mahony in action for Ireland against Georgia at

the U18 FIBA European Championships.

    

Kieran Doherty

TALENTED basketball player Mike O’Mahony is flying high in America

with Division 2 College Dominican University at Orangeburg New York.

Mike played all his underage career playing for Fr Mathew's and also

represented Ireland at FIBA European Championships at U16 and U18

level. He left these shores in 2021 to play for Phelps High School in

Philadelphia, however, after a difficult start he flourished in the

second half of the season.

“I played with Fr Mathew's from when I was old enough to catch a ball

right through until the age of eighteen when I left for America,” said.

“I was lucky to be on a talented team and had great coaches, that

constantly competed at the highest level.

"Unfortunately, Covid affected the final few seasons with Mathew's, not

playing in a Billy Kelly Tournament or being able to compete for an U18

or an U20 National Cup at my own age group, however, I had a very

positive experience during my time with Fr Mathew's.

“I left for Philadelphia in August of 2021 to play for the Phelps

School and It was my first time ever heading to the US.

STRUGGLED

"I struggled at the start and found things very difficult on and off

the court for various reasons.

I was constantly telling my parents back home that everything was going

great so that they weren’t worried about me.

"Both dealing with that and the novelty of living away from home for

the first time definitely helped me to mature very quickly."

Things changed for Mike, when there was a change of coach and he

quickly recovered his confidence.

He settled more into his surroundings and that resulted on the

basketball floor, as he became one of their standout players.

“A coaching change after Christmas saw me go from the end of the bench

to leading the team in minutes under the new coaches, John Harmutuk and

Mike Narzikul.

"I averaged a double-double in the second half of the season with

points and rebounds and began to regain the confidence.

"Our team won our last seventeen straight games, including a conference

championship."

After a great second half of the season with Phelps, Mike began to

attract the notice of numerous colleges in the area.

One particular College Dominican University whose coaches liked what

they saw attended his final three games and after a visit to their

campus he singed for the the New York University.

Cork Basketball: Mike O’Mahony when he signed for the Dominican

University in New York. Cork Basketball: Mike O’Mahony when he signed

for the Dominican University in New York.

“In a game against a top 20 team in the nation, I performed really well

in front of college coaches.

"My current coaches from Dominican University were at the game and they

approached me afterwards. I followed that game up with a number of

impressive performances he visited the college shortly after and signed

with the NCAA Division 2 outfit the same week.

“We had a really impressive start, winning sixteen of our first

seventeen games this year. We climbed the national rankings.

"Once we dropped a few league games after the Christmas break, we

struggled to get back on track and ended up losing in the first round

of the conference and regional playoffs, which was definitely upsetting

after such a strong start.

TRANSITION

“The biggest transition from playing here in Ireland to go playing in

the States, is athleticism.

Everybody over there is far quicker and can jump higher than anybody

that I came across at the underage level in Ireland.

"That was a huge adjustment because ultimately if you can’t play

defence, you can’t be on the court.

"That’s definitely something that I’m still working on in order to be

able to play multiple positions.

“ I was very fortunate that the Manning family lived near to my school.

If it wasn’t for Paul and Natasha, I likely would have pulled the plug

on staying in America long ago.

"They acted as a home away from home for me and still do. I can’t thank

them enough.

“I’m very happy at Dominican. I didn’t play as much as I would have

liked this year but I recognise that I was competing for playing time

with guys who were in their fourth and fifth year at the school.

"With four guys graduating and two others transferring elsewhere, I’m

confident that I’ll be able to fill the gaps they’ve left behind.

“I’m unable to play with the Irish U20s this summer due to family

reasons but the ultimate goal is to make the Senior Men’s team at some

point over the coming years and to eventually captain my country once

again."

Cork connection key in Ireland 3x3 basketball squads