Galway, Limerick and Dublin. These will be the three steps for Pat Connaughton, passing through Ireland this week to participate in “clinics” organized by the Irish federation. On the land of his ancestors, the Bucks player will thus distill his advice to Irish youth with the aim of promoting the practice of basketball in this country and encouraging vocations.
“It’s great to be able to run camps and help develop basketball here, starting in Galway, where my family is from. It’s really special. The Irish federation is doing a wonderful job of developing the game across the country and I would just love to contribute to that, to continue to help these kids achieve their goals, whether it’s playing college basketball in the States United or to reach the NBA. To be able to be part of that, even at my small level, that would already be cool”, did he declare.
More unexpectedly, the player took advantage of this trip to confide that he would not be against the idea of one day playing for the Irish national team!
“I would love to play here. I would love to play for the Irish national team one day. Obviously, for me, it would be about being able to do what I’m allowed to do in the offseason because of my contracts with the Bucks and stuff like that. But being able to wear the Irish flag, with my last name, being totally Irish, it would be really cool to represent the country.”he said.
His presence in the national team would also be a huge boost for basketball in Ireland, whose national team has never qualified for the World Cup, nor even for EuroBasket…
| Pat Connaughton | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | ORP | 34 | 4 | 26.5 | 23.8 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
| 2016-17 | ORP | 39 | 8 | 51.4 | 51.5 | 77.8 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.5 |
| 2017-18 | ORP | 82 | 18 | 42.3 | 35.2 | 84.1 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 5.4 |
| 2018-19 | MIL | 61 | 21 | 46.6 | 33.0 | 72.5 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 6.9 |
| 2019-20 | MIL | 67 | 19 | 45.5 | 33.1 | 77.5 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 5.4 |
| 2020-21 | MIL | 69 | 23 | 43.4 | 37.1 | 77.5 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 6.8 |
| 2021-22 | MIL | 65 | 26 | 45.8 | 39.5 | 83.3 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 9.9 |
| 2022-23 | MIL | 61 | 24 | 39.2 | 33.9 | 65.9 | 0.8 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 7.6 |
| Total | 478 | 19 | 43.6 | 35.9 | 77.7 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 6.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
