James Beckom looking forward to playing professional basketball in Italy

Cork native James Beckom will be treading the hardwood in Italy this season as he just penned his first professional basketball contract with Geko PSA Sant Antimo, which is based in city of Naples.

Geko PSA San Antimo have two teams that play in the Italian national leagues, one plays in the Italy-Series B and the other in the Series C and the latter is where James will be playing.  However, both teams practice together, so this is a fantastic opportunity for James to improve his overall game. 

He will practice everyday on all aspects of his game with his own personal and development coach, however, Beckom would be used to this kind of lifestyle as he spent one year in Italy playing one season with Lido Di Roma many years ago. 

He then spent six years in the US, two years playing with the Bentonville High School in Arkansas, and four more years playing in John Brown University, which is based in Siloam Springs.

After a standout year playing in the Super League with his boyhood club Blue Demons that saw him become a senior Irish international, he also helped them to National Cup honours last January, and that got overseas clubs looking for his signature for the coming season. 

However, after some offers from different clubs in different countries, he chose the Italian club as his preferred choice.

“So, I am moving to a club in Naples called PSA Sant Antimo and they have two teams that play in two different Italian National Leagues," James said.

“The Serie B 1 team plays in the third league in Italy, which a very high standard. However, I’ll be playing for their second team who play in Serie C, which would be similar to Super League in Ireland, and that is the fourth league in Italy. 

"The club has a very professional set-up, and I will be going over as a professional, so I will be training every day with the Serie B team, but I will be playing my games with the Serie C side. 

"The whole set-up of the club is like a college campus so everything I will need will be on campus. 

We have a team doctor, team nutritionist, team chef, and team physio, so everything I need while I’m over there will be available to me.

“This opportunity came out through my agent Alessandro and his agency. My agency is based in Italy, so thankfully they were in a prime spot for this team and this opportunity to be reached.

“I’m super excited to get over there for the main reason of just getting better as a basketball player. 

"I will have six training sessions a week, plus one game a week, and then, plus any individual sessions I do throughout the days of the week."

James also was called up to the Irish senior men’s program this season and he intends to be a mainstay with this team for the coming years as he is always honoured to represent his country.

“The main goal for me over there is just to get better as a basketball player, but also prove my worth and prove why the club brought me in. 

"I also want to be a mainstay in the Irish men’s senior Irish team, so getting over to play professionally in Italy with definitely improve my chances of that, and improve my chances of being a big part of the Irish international program in years to come.

“One of my main goals is to try improve the team as much as I can, so as a team, we can have a great season and go as far as possible in the league and in the championship as we can.

GRATEFUL

“I’d like to thank everyone involved in Blue Demons that supported me and helped me throughout this year. 

"Coming back to play in the Irish Super League after seven years away the expectations could’ve been too high. I really never felt the pressure as everyone involved at the club made me feel so welcome. 

When things got difficult there was always someone there to give me the support and the advice I needed to push on. 

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time back home and I would like to give a special thanks to Pat Keane, Danny O'Mahony, Rodge, Timmy, and all my teammates as they made last season very special for me, especially as we won the National Cup, which was the highlight for me.

“I will definitely make the most of my time away to improve myself as a basketball player, try to become more mature, more involved in the games and hopefully, a more rounded person off the court.

“Finally, I would also that my parents, Dave and Liz, brother David, and sister Jasmine, as they have been my biggest supporters from a young age and I can't thank them enough for all they have done for me to help get me to this stage of my career."