Great Britain Men’s National Team Head Coach Marc Steutel has named an exciting, new-look 12-man roster for Friday night’s FIBA World Cup Qualifier against Belgium at Newcastle’s Vertu Motors Arena (7:30pm).
The National Team will take to the court tomorrow against Belgium before travelling to Belgrade to face the Serbians on February 27th as Steutel and his staff conclude what has been a historic FIBA World Cup Qualifying campaign, with GB reaching the second qualifying phase for the first time in their history.
The 12-man roster sees Amin Adamu, Michael Belle, Noah Horchler and Jelani Watson-Gayle selected for the first time, whilst the experienced heads of Kyle Johnson, Ben Mockford and Carl Wheatle have been tasked with leading the team with 160 caps between the trio.
Speaking following the confirmation of the 12-man roster, Head Coach Marc Steutel said:
“The thing that I’ve been most pleased with this week is the group’s intent to try and take on the concepts we believe we need to implement to be successful. It is a really exciting time for the Men’s programme, and being able to give an opportunity to these players only adds to that excitement.
“We’re obviously bitterly disappointed that qualification for the World Cup is out of our reach, after reaching a point where we’d never been previously as a team, but this is an exciting opportunity to use high-level competitive matches to do the right thing for the programme.
“Make no bones about it, we’re trying to win tomorrow, but we’re also going to maximise the opportunity to do the right thing for the future of the programme, allowing these really talented younger guys to play through some experiences they need to have to put the programme in the right place for years to come.
“Camp has been extremely positive and I’m excited to see how we pull together on the floor tomorrow night.”
GET YOUR TICKETS
Get your tickets to support Great Britain in their final home game of FIBA 2023 World Cup Qualifying in Newcastle against Belgium on February 24th by clicking here. The team needs your support and we can’t wait to see you in the stands cheering on the team this week!
12-Man Roster for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifier against Belgium – February 23, 2023
| NAME | POSITION | AGE | HEIGHT | CLUB TEAM (2022-23) | CAPS* |
| Amin Adamu | G | 25 | 6’5″ | Kapfenberg Bulls (AUT) | 0 |
| Michael Belle | F | 19 | 6’6″ | Espoirs Strasbourg (FRA) | 0 |
| Quinn Ellis | G | 19 | 6’2″ | Monferatto (ITA) | 2 |
| Noah Horchler | F | 25 | 6’8″ | Aris B.C. (GRE) | 0 |
| Kyle Johnson | G | 34 | 6’5″ | Newcastle Eagles (GBR) | 85 |
| Callum Lawson | F | 26 | 6’6″ | Valur (ISL) | 2 |
| Aaron Menzies | C | 26 | 7’3″ | Leicester Riders (GBR) | 2 |
| Ben Mockford | G | 33 | 6’2″ | Newcastle Eagles (GBR) | 54 |
| Josh Sharma | C | 26 | 7’0″ | London Lions (GBR) | 2 |
| Jelani Watson-Gayle | G | 24 | 6’1″ | Bristol Flyers (GBR) | 0 |
| Carl Wheatle | F | 24 | 6’7″ | Pistoia (ITA) | 27 |
| Jordan Williams | F | 27 | 6’8″ | Hubner Nyiregyhaza (HUN) | 4 |
Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Marc Steutel
Assistant Coach: Gareth Murray
Assistant Coach: Jackson Gibbons
Director of Basketball Operations / Assistant Coach: Jamie Smith
Head Performance Analyst: Adam Sewell
Performance Staff:
Head of Delegation: Russell Bell
General Manager: Dan Clark
Team Manager: Chris Morris
Head of Sport Science & Medicine: Tom Cresswell
Physiotherapist: Aynkaran Vigneswaran
Team Doctor: Dr Jonathan Williams
Media Officer: Jamie Thomas
*International Caps are accurate as of the start of the February 2022 FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifying Window.
