| Tralee Warriors | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leagues | Super League |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Arena | Tralee Sports Complex |
| Location | Tralee, Ireland |
| Team colours | Green, blue, white |
| Main sponsor | Garvey's Supervalu Tralee |
| President | Terry O'Brien |
| Head coach | John Dowling |
| Championships | 2 (2019, 2022) |
Tralee Warriors Basketball Club, also known as Garvey's Tralee Warriors for sponsorship reasons, is an Irish basketball club based in Tralee that hosts a men's team in the Super League. Their home arena is the Tralee Sports Complex.
In May 2016, a new Tralee basketball team was inducted into the Super League for the 2016–17 season. [1] The team came about after a collaboration between local clubs Tralee Imperials and St Brendan's. Tralee's return to National League basketball, having previously hosted a team called Tralee Tigers, brought with it one of Ireland's best known basketball players, Kieran Donaghy. Donaghy, a dual Gaelic footballer and basketball player, played for St Brendan's in 2015–16 and was a big part of Tralee Tigers in the early 2000s. [2] [3] Originally set up as Tralee Town BC, the club was officially named Tralee Warriors Basketball Club, with their crest and colours being launched in July 2016. [4]
On 23 September 2016, Tralee Warriors made their debut in the Super League with a 92–77 loss to UCC Demons. [5] [6] [7] On 2 April 2017, Tralee Warriors were crowned Champions Trophy winners after defeating league champions Templeogue in the final. [8] [9] Tralee were led by American guard Trae Pemberton (21 points, 9 rebounds), Serbian forward Goran Pantovic (15 points, 18 rebounds), and game MVP Kieran Donaghy (15 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists). [10] For the season, Pemberton was named Men's Super League Player of the Year, Ryan Leonard was named Men's Super League Young Player of the Year, and Head Coach Mark Bernsen made it a Kerry treble by scooping the Men's Super League Coach of the Year. [11]
In March 2018, Tralee Warriors returned to the Champions Trophy final, where they defended their title with a 73–61 win over Templeogue. Guard Paul Dick was named MVP of the final after scoring 22 points. [12]
In March 2019, Tralee Warriors were crowned champions of the Super League for the first time, as they finished on top of the table with a league-best 16–4 record. [13] [14]
In January 2022, Tralee Warriors won the Irish National Cup with an 88–75 win over Neptune in the final. Forward Daniel Jokubaitis was named MVP of the final after scoring 19 points. [15] They went on to win the League championship in April with a 78–72 victory over Neptune in the playoff final. Guard Aaron Calixte was named MVP of the final after scoring 21 points. [16]
Irish National Cup
The Kerry Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1889 for the top Gaelic football teams in the county of Kerry in Ireland.
Kieran Donaghy is an Irish Gaelic footballer and basketball player. He plays for Tralee club Austin Stacks and, formerly, at senior level for the Kerry county team. Donaghy won four All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals, eight Munster Championships and three National League titles with Kerry, and is the recipient of three All Stars Awards. He announced his retirement from inter-county football on 11 September 2018. Donaghy is also a long-time basketball player, currently playing for Tralee Warriors in the Irish Super League.
UCC Demons are an Irish basketball team based in Cork. The team competes in the Super League and plays its home games at Mardyke Arena. The team is a division of Blue Demons Basketball Club and is directly associated with the University College Cork.
Tralee Tigers was an Irish basketball team based in Tralee, County Kerry. The team competed in the SuperLeague and were champions in 1995–96, 2003–04 and 2007–08. They also won the Irish National Championship in 2001–02, and won two National Cup titles in 2005 and 2007. The team folded following the 2008–09 season.
The Super League is the top tier men's basketball league in Ireland. The league has 14 teams. The league is an active member of Basketball Ireland, which is recognised by FIBA as the national governing body for basketball in Ireland. Neptune hold the record for most league titles, having won the competition 11 times.
Colin O'Reilly is an Irish basketball coach and former player. He played Division III college basketball for Post University in the United States in the early 2000s and later represented the Irish national team as both a player and as a player-coach.
Lehmon Colbert Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Jacksonville Dolphins before playing professionally in England, Mexico and Ireland. With UCC Demons in the Irish Super League, he won two championships and multiple other trophies and was the league's Player of the Year in 2016. Between 2018 and 2020, he played for Neptune and served as player-coach in his second season.
Neptune Basketball Club is an Irish basketball club based in Cork. Founded in 1947 following input from members of the Irish Defence Forces in developing citizen's clubs, Neptune is the oldest and most successful basketball club in Ireland. Based at Neptune Stadium, Neptune is the only basketball club in Ireland with its own stadium.
The 2015–16 Irish Premier League season was the 43rd running of Basketball Ireland's premier men's basketball competition. The season featured 10 teams from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the regular season beginning on 3 October 2015 and ending on 6 March 2016. With a first-place finish and a 16–2 win–loss record, UCC Demons were crowned back-to-back league champions, while 2016 National Cup honours went to Templeogue, who collected their first piece of silverware. In the season finale Champions Trophy tournament, Demons took out the title for the fourth straight year.
The 2016–17 Irish Super League season was the 44th running of Basketball Ireland's premier men's basketball competition. The season featured 12 teams from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the regular season beginning on 23 September 2016 and ending on 19 March 2017. During the 2016 off-season, Basketball Ireland expanded its top flight men's league to 12 teams, with new team Tralee Warriors entering and Dublin side KUBS being granted promotion from the Men's Division One. With a first-place finish and a 20–2 win–loss record, Templeogue were crowned league champions for the first time in their history. 2017 National Cup honours went to Swords Thunder, who collected their first piece of silverware in the top flight league, while Tralee were crowned the winners of the season finale Champions Trophy tournament after defeating Templeogue in the final.
The 2014–15 Irish Premier League season was the 42nd running of Basketball Ireland's premier men's basketball competition. The season featured 10 teams from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the regular season beginning on 4 October 2014 and ending on 15 March 2015. In 2014–15, UCC Demons created history in Irish basketball by becoming the first side ever to remain undefeated for an entire season. They claimed the end-of-season Champions Trophy on 29 March 2015 to add to their League and Cup titles in a campaign that saw them win 24 games in a row. In a thrilling Champions Trophy final in Galway, Demons saw off Templeogue 85–73 behind the play of player-coach Colin O'Reilly.
Templeogue Basketball Club is an Irish basketball club based in Dublin. The club has teams competing in Dublin Leagues and National Competitions, with the senior men's representative team, Griffith College Templeogue, playing in the Irish Super League.
The 2013–14 Irish Premier League season was the 41st running of Basketball Ireland's premier men's basketball competition. The season featured 10 teams from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the regular season beginning on 5 October 2013 and ending on 9 March 2014. With a first-place finish and a 17–1 win–loss record, Killester were crowned league champions for the eighth time in their history. UCC Demons were crowned National Cup champions for a sixth time, and won the season finale Champions Trophy tournament for the second straight year.
The 2012–13 Irish SuperLeague season was the 40th running of Basketball Ireland's premier men's basketball competition. The season featured 8 teams from across the Republic of Ireland, with the regular season beginning on 28 September 2012 and ending on 9 March 2013. With a first-place finish and a 16–5 win–loss record, UL Eagles were crowned league champions for the second straight year. Neptune were crowned National Cup champions for the first time in 21 years, while UCC Demons won the inaugural season finale Champions Trophy tournament.
Jermaine Turner is an American-Irish former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his 17-year career playing in the Irish Super League. Turner first arrived in Ireland in 2000 following a season of college basketball with Dowling College. Over 17 years, he spent time with Dungannon, Tralee, Ballina, Tolka Rovers, UCD Marian, St Vincent's, and Killester. He also had stints in Switzerland, Finland, Romania and Spain.
The 2017–18 Irish Super League season was the 45th running of Basketball Ireland's premier men's basketball competition. The season featured 12 teams from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the regular season beginning on 15 September 2017 and ending on 17 March 2018 with UCD Marian claiming their first title in 40 years. Templeogue were victorious in the National Cup, while Tralee Warriors defended their Champions Trophy title.
The 2018–19 Irish Super League season was the 46th running of Basketball Ireland's premier men's basketball competition. The season began featuring 12 teams from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, before dropping to 11 mid-season following Swords Thunder disbanding in February 2019. The regular season began on 29 September 2018 and ended on 24 March 2019 with Tralee Warriors claiming their maiden championship. Killester were victorious in the National Cup, while Templeogue won the Champions Trophy for the first time after finishing as runners-up in three out of the previous four seasons.
The 2019–20 Irish Super League season was the 47th running of Basketball Ireland's premier men's basketball competition. The season featured 12 teams from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The regular season began on 21 September 2019 and was scheduled to end on 14 March 2020. However, on 11 March 2020, Basketball Ireland suspended the league with one round to go due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Belfast Star were declared the season champions.
The 2021–22 Irish Super League season was the 48th running of Basketball Ireland's premier men's basketball competition, following the cancellation of the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season featured 12 teams from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Tralee Warriors were crowned National Cup and League champions.
Michael Randolph Jr. is an American professional basketball player for SKN St. Pölten of the Austrian Basketball Superliga. He played college basketball for the Florida A&M Rattlers of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).