GB confirm 12-man roster for Larissa showdown
Great Britain’s 12-man squad for the Thursday’s FIBA 2023 World Cup Qualifier against Greece has been confirmed.
GB have been in training camp in Larissa this week ahead of their final away fixture of Group B against the European heavyweights, Greece, on Thursday 30 June (6pm BST).
The Men’s team enter this window in unprecedented form, having won 12 of their past 15 games – a run that extends all the way back to the 2018-19 season and includes wins over the European heavyweights of France, Greece, Germany and Montenegro.
Qualification for the Second Qualifying Round of the competition is already secured, but the significance of the upcoming fixtures against Greece and Turkey is no less important as results for each team carry over from the First Qualifying Round.
Speaking ahead of the confirmation of the final 12-man roster, Men’s National Team Head Coach Nate Reinking said:
“This is a huge opportunity for these guys and I think they’re taking advantage of it. Practice has been great with the roster coming into camp and doing everything they can to grasp our philosophies and show that they can produce.
“Come tomorrow night and come Sunday, when their numbers are called, these guys are going to be ready to step up and that is what it is all about. They’re all fighting for a roster spot in the future and they know this is an opportunity for them all to show what they can do.”
“I’m extremely excited for tomorrow’s game and then to bring it back to Newcastle on Sunday in front of a sell-out crowd will be awesome. This roster has worked extremely hard to grasp a lot of concepts and develop and grow together over the last few days and we’re excited to put that to the test tomorrow.”
Jaiden Delaire, Callum Lawson and Patrick Whelan’s inclusion in the squad sees the trio in line to make their senior GB Men’s debuts as neither of the three has won a cap previously.
On the other end of the spectrum with 110 caps to his name, Olympian Dan Clark edges closer to snatching the all-time GB Men’s caps record, whereas Myles Hesson and Gabe Olaseni move closer to their milestone fiftieth caps.
Teddy Okereafor’s incredible, historic run of 51 consecutive caps for the Men’s National Team comes to an end as the star point guard is battling an injury. We’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Teddy once again on his incredible efforts and achievement in securing this record-breaking run of consecutive caps, and we hope to see him back on the court for his country very soon.
The full 12-man roster for the Greece game can be found below. You can catch GB in action against Greece at 6pm BST on Thursday 30 June, live on FIBA’s streaming service, Courtside 1891.
| Name | Position | Age | Height | 21/22 Club | Caps |
| Jamell Anderson | F | 31 | 6’7″ | Manchester Giants (GBR) | 4 |
| Kavell Bigby-Williams | F/C | 26 | 6’11” | Indios de San Francisco (DOM) | 8 |
| Dan Clark | F/C | 33 | 6’11” | Manchester Giants (GBR) | 110 |
| Jaiden Delaire | F | 21 | 6’9″ | Stanford University (USA) | 0 |
| Myles Hesson | F | 32 | 6’6″ | Kagawa Five Arrows (JPN) | 45 |
| Kyle Johnson | G | 33 | 6’5″ | Hamilton Honey Badgers (CAN) | 83 |
| Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye | G | 25 | 6’3″ | Heroes Den Bosch (NED) | 10 |
| Callum Lawson | F | 26 | 6’6″ | Valur (ISL) | 0 |
| Gabe Olaseni | C | 30 | 6’10” | Darussafaka (TUR) | 42 |
| Devon van Oostrum | G | 29 | 6’3″ | Club Melilla Baloncesto (ESP) | 40 |
| Carl Wheatle | F | 24 | 6’7″ | Pistoia (ITA) | 17 |
| Patrick Whelan | G | 25 | 6’5″ | Leicester Riders (GBR) | 0 |
Coaching & Performance Staff:
Head Coach: Nate Reinking
Assistant Coach: Marc Steutel
Assistant Coach: Jamie Smith
Assistant Coach: Andreas Kapoulas
Head Performance Analyst: Adam Sewell
Team Manager & Head of Delegation: Chris Morris
Head Sports Therapist: Tom Cresswell
Physiotherapist: Aynkaran Vigneswaran
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Rich Clarke
Team Doctor: Karen Barclay
*International Caps are accurate as of the start of the June 2022 FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifying Window.