Meet Dan Clark, 22, the 6ft 10in Greenwich-born basketballer whowas prolific for Team GB at Eurobasket. By Alan Hubbard
How did you start?
I didn't have much choice. My family is steeped in the sport. Mydad Mark coaches the Great Britain national women's team and my mumClaire played for GB and England. My sister Ella, 19, is an EnglandUnder-20 international. I have always been around the game.Apparently there is a photo of me somewhere in a cot with abasketball.
How did your career develop?
I played for Ware in Hertfordshire as a youngster and at 14 Idecided to take a bit of an adventure and signed for the Spanishprofessional club Estudiantes in Madrid as a junior after I had beenspotted by one of their talent scouts while playing for the nationalteam. I was one of the taller boys - 6ft 6in even then - so I stoodout a bit. It was daunting at first but they found an English schoolfor me and I did my A Levels there. I am still with the club,playing in the first team. I think I was the first young Britishplayer to take the European route. Most go for scholarships at UScolleges.
Any regrets about going abroad?
None at all. It gave me the opportunity to learn another cultureand language and improve my game. In Spain there is the same form ofdevelopment system in basketball as there is in football here, withyouth teams. They have something called mini-basketball from sevenor eight which brings kids into the game. In our club we have about40 junior teams. The club started as a school team (Estudiantesmeans students) and built from there. Some big football clubs likeReal Madrid and Barcelona also have their own basketball teams. Itwould be wonderful to have something like that to help develop thegame here.
What grabs you about the sport?
Apart from playing I am a fan too. It is a fast, entertaininggame and I love watching it. There's always something happening. Itis captivating, so easy to follow.
What is your role?
I'm a power forward, a sort of all-purpose player, doing a bit ofshooting but helping out generally.
Any other sporting interests?
I played rugby when I was younger - in the second row, obviously -but when I was 12 or 13 I had to decide between sports, and I chosebasketball. It was the right choice.
How do you train?
Weights and speed work mainly. It's a bit different from sportslike football where it is basically continuous running. It issprint, sprint, sprint. There's not much time to jog up and down.
Why aren't Great Britain better at basketball?
It's a mystery. I suppose you should start at the grass roots,where coaching is not what it should be. But one of the main reasonsis the overall lack of knowledge about the game. It doesn't have ahuge fan base. In Spain we get crowds of 12,000 to 15,000 but hereit's nothing like that - and spectator numbers are falling. I thinkit is a combination of funding, not developing personalities, andlack of publicity. We need to get the public more involved. Peoplehere may have heard of Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls but there'snot much real knowledge about the game at all. It's a real shamebecause I would like to see it encouraged more as a professionalgame. As a nation we could benefit from having a great basketballteam. There's talk of an NBA franchise in London after the Olympics,which would be real boost for the game.
How important are NBA players such as Luol Deng and Ben Gordon toTeam GB?
It is always good to have great players on the team. They giveyou that added confidence on court. Hopefully they will help us tothe next level.
What does London 2012 mean to you?
To have the opportunity to appear in the Olympics on my homepatch in east London would be a dream come true. I'd wake up everyday having to pinch myself. But most important is that it will be ashop window. Basketball will be one of the bigger sports at theOlympics with some great stars. The crowds will appreciate just howpopular it is around the world, and could be here. It is up to us tocapitalise on that by giving a good showing.
Deng: 'It's an ideal sport for 2012 with its emphasis on youthculture'
The star
Luol Deng. Barak Obama's favourite player, the best-knownsporting Briton in the United States, at 6ft 9in bigger than Beckhamin every sense. The Sudanese-born refugee, 26, plays for ChicagoBulls and when it comes to dunking the ball, "Lu" can certainly bendit like Beckham. Team GB's greatest asset - when available. An avidArsenal fan, he was selected for the England Under-15 football squadbut his height was already sending out messages that basketball washis real calling. "There is so much talent in Britain and if onlybasketball could get the attention it deserves we could be one ofthe most powerful nations in the game," he says. "Also, it's anideal sport for 2012, with its emphasis on youth culture." GB team-mate Dan Clark adds: "Most players can do something well; he doeseverything exceptionally well. He's unselfish, he has no ego and hemakes the players around him better."
The coach
Chris Finch. The Florida-born American has been at the helm ofthe British men's programme since its relaunch in 2006. He is alsoassistant coach of the Houston Rockets in the NBA. "We have put thegame on a professional footing here, which it wasn't always before,"he says. "We've got a good mix now, with some high-level guys, andwe are now finding out what they can do."
The venue
The 12,000-capacity temporary arena was the first venue to hold atest event in the new Olympic Park when Team GB played Australia,China, Croatia, France and Serbia - with mixed results. It will hostthe Olympic tournament until the quarter-final stage, when the sportwill transfer to the larger O2 Arena (which will be renamed theGreenwich Arena for the occasion) and will then be re-configured tostage the handball finals.
The prospects
Not brilliant, with crack opposition like the US, Spain, Germany,Argentina, Greece, Lithuania and Turkey in the medal chase. InEurobasket, the recent European Championships, Britain improved ontheir winless performance in 2009 but were eliminated after losingtheir first three games against the top seeds in the group. However,they finished with successive victories against Portugal and Poland.2012 will be the first Olympic appearance by a British basketballteam since London in 1948, having been granted a touch-and-gowildcard place, and they will do well to qualify from their group.
Alan Hubbard
High hoops and even higher hopesMeet Dan Clark, 22, the 6ft 10in Greenwich-born basketballer whowas prolific for Team GB at Eurobasket. By Alan Hubbard
How did you start?
I didn't have much choice. My family is steeped in the sport. Mydad Mark coaches the Great Britain national women's team and my mumClaire played for GB and England. My sister Ella, 19, is an EnglandUnder-20 international. I have always been around the game.Apparently there is a photo of me somewhere in a cot with abasketball.
How did your career develop?
I played for Ware in Hertfordshire as a youngster and at 14 Idecided to take a bit of an adventure and signed for the Spanishprofessional club Estudiantes in Madrid as a junior after I had beenspotted by one of their talent scouts while playing for the nationalteam. I was one of the taller boys - 6ft 6in even then - so I stoodout a bit. It was daunting at first but they found an English schoolfor me and I did my A Levels there. I am still with the club,playing in the first team. I think I was the first young Britishplayer to take the European route. Most go for scholarships at UScolleges.
Any regrets about going abroad?
None at all. It gave me the opportunity to learn another cultureand language and improve my game. In Spain there is the same form ofdevelopment system in basketball as there is in football here, withyouth teams. They have something called mini-basketball from sevenor eight which brings kids into the game. In our club we have about40 junior teams. The club started as a school team (Estudiantesmeans students) and built from there. Some big football clubs likeReal Madrid and Barcelona also have their own basketball teams. Itwould be wonderful to have something like that to help develop thegame here.
What grabs you about the sport?
Apart from playing I am a fan too. It is a fast, entertaininggame and I love watching it. There's always something happening. Itis captivating, so easy to follow.
What is your role?
I'm a power forward, a sort of all-purpose player, doing a bit ofshooting but helping out generally.
Any other sporting interests?
I played rugby when I was younger - in the second row, obviously -but when I was 12 or 13 I had to decide between sports, and I chosebasketball. It was the right choice.
How do you train?
Weights and speed work mainly. It's a bit different from sportslike football where it is basically continuous running. It issprint, sprint, sprint. There's not much time to jog up and down.
Why aren't Great Britain better at basketball?
It's a mystery. I suppose you should start at the grass roots,where coaching is not what it should be. But one of the main reasonsis the overall lack of knowledge about the game. It doesn't have ahuge fan base. In Spain we get crowds of 12,000 to 15,000 but hereit's nothing like that - and spectator numbers are falling. I thinkit is a combination of funding, not developing personalities, andlack of publicity. We need to get the public more involved. Peoplehere may have heard of Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls but there'snot much real knowledge about the game at all. It's a real shamebecause I would like to see it encouraged more as a professionalgame. As a nation we could benefit from having a great basketballteam. There's talk of an NBA franchise in London after the Olympics,which would be real boost for the game.
How important are NBA players such as Luol Deng and Ben Gordon toTeam GB?
It is always good to have great players on the team. They giveyou that added confidence on court. Hopefully they will help us tothe next level.
What does London 2012 mean to you?
To have the opportunity to appear in the Olympics on my homepatch in east London would be a dream come true. I'd wake up everyday having to pinch myself. But most important is that it will be ashop window. Basketball will be one of the bigger sports at theOlympics with some great stars. The crowds will appreciate just howpopular it is around the world, and could be here. It is up to us tocapitalise on that by giving a good showing.
Deng: 'It's an ideal sport for 2012 with its emphasis on youthculture'
The star
Luol Deng. Barak Obama's favourite player, the best-knownsporting Briton in the United States, at 6ft 9in bigger than Beckhamin every sense. The Sudanese-born refugee, 26, plays for ChicagoBulls and when it comes to dunking the ball, "Lu" can certainly bendit like Beckham. Team GB's greatest asset - when available. An avidArsenal fan, he was selected for the England Under-15 football squadbut his height was already sending out messages that basketball washis real calling. "There is so much talent in Britain and if onlybasketball could get the attention it deserves we could be one ofthe most powerful nations in the game," he says. "Also, it's anideal sport for 2012, with its emphasis on youth culture." GB team-mate Dan Clark adds: "Most players can do something well; he doeseverything exceptionally well. He's unselfish, he has no ego and hemakes the players around him better."
The coach
Chris Finch. The Florida-born American has been at the helm ofthe British men's programme since its relaunch in 2006. He is alsoassistant coach of the Houston Rockets in the NBA. "We have put thegame on a professional footing here, which it wasn't always before,"he says. "We've got a good mix now, with some high-level guys, andwe are now finding out what they can do."
The venue
The 12,000-capacity temporary arena was the first venue to hold atest event in the new Olympic Park when Team GB played Australia,China, Croatia, France and Serbia - with mixed results. It will hostthe Olympic tournament until the quarter-final stage, when the sportwill transfer to the larger O2 Arena (which will be renamed theGreenwich Arena for the occasion) and will then be re-configured tostage the handball finals.
The prospects
Not brilliant, with crack opposition like the US, Spain, Germany,Argentina, Greece, Lithuania and Turkey in the medal chase. InEurobasket, the recent European Championships, Britain improved ontheir winless performance in 2009 but were eliminated after losingtheir first three games against the top seeds in the group. However,they finished with successive victories against Portugal and Poland.2012 will be the first Olympic appearance by a British basketballteam since London in 1948, having been granted a touch-and-gowildcard place, and they will do well to qualify from their group.
Alan Hubbard
High hoops and even higher hopesMeet Dan Clark, 22, the 6ft 10in Greenwich-born basketballer whowas prolific for Team GB at Eurobasket. By Alan Hubbard
How did you start?
I didn't have much choice. My family is steeped in the sport. Mydad Mark coaches the Great Britain national women's team and my mumClaire played for GB and England. My sister Ella, 19, is an EnglandUnder-20 international. I have always been around the game.Apparently there is a photo of me somewhere in a cot with abasketball.
How did your career develop?
I played for Ware in Hertfordshire as a youngster and at 14 Idecided to take a bit of an adventure and signed for the Spanishprofessional club Estudiantes in Madrid as a junior after I had beenspotted by one of their talent scouts while playing for the nationalteam. I was one of the taller boys - 6ft 6in even then - so I stoodout a bit. It was daunting at first but they found an English schoolfor me and I did my A Levels there. I am still with the club,playing in the first team. I think I was the first young Britishplayer to take the European route. Most go for scholarships at UScolleges.
Any regrets about going abroad?
None at all. It gave me the opportunity to learn another cultureand language and improve my game. In Spain there is the same form ofdevelopment system in basketball as there is in football here, withyouth teams. They have something called mini-basketball from sevenor eight which brings kids into the game. In our club we have about40 junior teams. The club started as a school team (Estudiantesmeans students) and built from there. Some big football clubs likeReal Madrid and Barcelona also have their own basketball teams. Itwould be wonderful to have something like that to help develop thegame here.
What grabs you about the sport?
Apart from playing I am a fan too. It is a fast, entertaininggame and I love watching it. There's always something happening. Itis captivating, so easy to follow.
What is your role?
I'm a power forward, a sort of all-purpose player, doing a bit ofshooting but helping out generally.
Any other sporting interests?
I played rugby when I was younger - in the second row, obviously -but when I was 12 or 13 I had to decide between sports, and I chosebasketball. It was the right choice.
How do you train?
Weights and speed work mainly. It's a bit different from sportslike football where it is basically continuous running. It issprint, sprint, sprint. There's not much time to jog up and down.
Why aren't Great Britain better at basketball?
It's a mystery. I suppose you should start at the grass roots,where coaching is not what it should be. But one of the main reasonsis the overall lack of knowledge about the game. It doesn't have ahuge fan base. In Spain we get crowds of 12,000 to 15,000 but hereit's nothing like that - and spectator numbers are falling. I thinkit is a combination of funding, not developing personalities, andlack of publicity. We need to get the public more involved. Peoplehere may have heard of Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls but there'snot much real knowledge about the game at all. It's a real shamebecause I would like to see it encouraged more as a professionalgame. As a nation we could benefit from having a great basketballteam. There's talk of an NBA franchise in London after the Olympics,which would be real boost for the game.
How important are NBA players such as Luol Deng and Ben Gordon toTeam GB?
It is always good to have great players on the team. They giveyou that added confidence on court. Hopefully they will help us tothe next level.
What does London 2012 mean to you?
To have the opportunity to appear in the Olympics on my homepatch in east London would be a dream come true. I'd wake up everyday having to pinch myself. But most important is that it will be ashop window. Basketball will be one of the bigger sports at theOlympics with some great stars. The crowds will appreciate just howpopular it is around the world, and could be here. It is up to us tocapitalise on that by giving a good showing.
Deng: 'It's an ideal sport for 2012 with its emphasis on youthculture'
The star
Luol Deng. Barak Obama's favourite player, the best-knownsporting Briton in the United States, at 6ft 9in bigger than Beckhamin every sense. The Sudanese-born refugee, 26, plays for ChicagoBulls and when it comes to dunking the ball, "Lu" can certainly bendit like Beckham. Team GB's greatest asset - when available. An avidArsenal fan, he was selected for the England Under-15 football squadbut his height was already sending out messages that basketball washis real calling. "There is so much talent in Britain and if onlybasketball could get the attention it deserves we could be one ofthe most powerful nations in the game," he says. "Also, it's anideal sport for 2012, with its emphasis on youth culture." GB team-mate Dan Clark adds: "Most players can do something well; he doeseverything exceptionally well. He's unselfish, he has no ego and hemakes the players around him better."
The coach
Chris Finch. The Florida-born American has been at the helm ofthe British men's programme since its relaunch in 2006. He is alsoassistant coach of the Houston Rockets in the NBA. "We have put thegame on a professional footing here, which it wasn't always before,"he says. "We've got a good mix now, with some high-level guys, andwe are now finding out what they can do."
The venue
The 12,000-capacity temporary arena was the first venue to hold atest event in the new Olympic Park when Team GB played Australia,China, Croatia, France and Serbia - with mixed results. It will hostthe Olympic tournament until the quarter-final stage, when the sportwill transfer to the larger O2 Arena (which will be renamed theGreenwich Arena for the occasion) and will then be re-configured tostage the handball finals.
The prospects
Not brilliant, with crack opposition like the US, Spain, Germany,Argentina, Greece, Lithuania and Turkey in the medal chase. InEurobasket, the recent European Championships, Britain improved ontheir winless performance in 2009 but were eliminated after losingtheir first three games against the top seeds in the group. However,they finished with successive victories against Portugal and Poland.2012 will be the first Olympic appearance by a British basketballteam since London in 1948, having been granted a touch-and-gowildcard place, and they will do well to qualify from their group.
Alan Hubbard
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