Detroit's Gordon insists he is totally committed to British cause

By Howard Lloyd, Sportsbeat

MORE than two years have passed since Ben Gordon pledged his allegiance to the British basketball team - and yet the wait goes on for his debut.

COMMITTED: Detroit's Ben Gordon watched Great Britain booked their EuroBasket finals place and hopes to make his long-awaited debut next summer (British Basketball/Reuters)

He missed last year's EuroBasket finals due to commitments with his new club, following a reported $55 million five-year contract after his transfer from Chicago Bulls.

While an ankle injury denied him the chance to appear in the ongoing qualifying campaign for next year's finals in Lithuania.

However, the 27-year old guard was in Liverpool to watch his future team-mates - led by former Chicago colleague Luol Deng - secure their progress.

Gordon's appearance on the sidelines was a major boost for coach Chris Finch and British fans, who had openly started to doubt his commitment to the cause.

Born in London to Jamaican parents, Gordon left the UK when he was just a few months old - his closest connection to the land of his birth a reported love of tea.

However, he insists that he has no regrets about nailing his colours to the country of his birth - despite his appearance for the United States at the 2003 Pan-Am Games.

"I really wanted to come over to Liverpool and let everyone know that I am totally committed," said Gordon.

"I really wanted to confirm that to my teammates and everyone watching. I'm definitely here to stay and in this for the long-haul.

"I've been talking to the guys I already know out here in the team like Luol Deng and just getting a feel for the team.

"I've also been talking to the coach and the players I didn't know and that's been really helpful because there were some I had never met before, so it was a good chance to say hello."

Gordon also hailed the selling job that Deng - the predictable stand-out player during the recent EuroBasket qualifying campaign - did to persuade him that his international ambitions could be fulfilled by a country that hasn't appeared at the Olympics since 1948.

British Basketball has seen a huge injection of public funds in recent years - and it's hoped a successful international programme, that lasts long beyond 2012, will be one of the sporting legacies of the Games.

"Luol and I talk a lot about basketball and British basketball in particular. He actually played a really big role in convincing me to play for Great Britain and we spoke in a lot of detail about it," added Gordon.

"He was one of the main reasons I'm playing for GB. He told me a lot about what the condition of basketball was like over here, what living here was like, stuff like that. 

"I certainly don't regret it at all. My only regret is that I've missed so much playing time because of the surgery I had to have on my ankle, so no, definitely no regrets.

"My ankle is now up to about 85-90% though, so it's looking ok. I've got about a month left before pre-season starts so it should be ok for that."

More related reading

• Robertson relishing brief spell away from London 2012 heat at nationals

• Tynan determined to reach London 2012 in memory of her late mother

• Burnett determined to close his career with a smile on his face

• LONDON 2012: Local lad JJ Jegede confident he can make an impact at Olympics

• Meet the Brits who are top of the world with their noses pressed against the window of London 2012

Comments

Post new comment

Your name:

E-mail:

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Homepage:

Subject:

Comment: *

Notify me of follow-up comments posted here: No notificationsFor all comments on this post

You can change the default for this field in "Comment follow-up notification settings" on your account edit page.