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Alan Keane critical of England Basketball following disappointing finish in Harris tournament

  • Basketball boss says England "must get better" after Manchester final third place
  • Full interview below

Alan Keane – England U18s Basketball coach from Northern Quota on Vimeo.

England Under-18s coach Alan Keane demanded improvement from his young players after a third place finish at the Haris Tournament in Manchester over Christmas.

Ireland won the competition, beating Worcester Academy 103-91.

England beat the City of Edinburgh 98-85 in their final game to take 3rd spot, having lost to Worcester 88-91 in the semi-final.

After the match Keane admitted being disappointed with his team’s performance and promised progress, despite only being selected as head coach shortly before the three-day tournament.

“We’ve definitely got massive steps forward to take,” he said. “We took these few days as an opportunity to work together as a unit and develop. We don’t have a playing style yet – we’re focused on developing that. We are still getting used to each other, coaches and players.”

Previously boss of the England Under-16 team, Keane believes his players have a promising future and will put his faith in their club sides to help them develop.

“We have to be mindful that there are twelve other guys who are not here,” he said. “As a group we have a lot of potential but these twelve players did not show their true capability during the tournament."

"They’re all in good Academies and programmes, and I would expect due to the nature of the good environments they’re in that they will be better players next time I see them.”

The annual tournament is named after the former Manchester Magic player Haris Charalambous who died aged 21 in October 2006 in America, where he played for Toledo University.

Held at the Amaechi Centre in Manchester, the tournament has become a regular fixture in the national basketball team’s training and development schedule, and an opportunity for Keane’s coaching team to work closely with the young players.

England’s Josh Ogundele made the Team of the Tournament, and Manchester Magic took 5th spot from eight.