Eli Linehan and Mikey O'Mahony are enjoying their basketball journey stateside despite the ups and downs

Two Cork basketball players Eli Linehan and Mikey O’Mahony have been playing college ball in the United States for the last number of years, and it's been has been an incredible experience for both lads.

Linehan, who plays at the two guard position, is in now fifth year playing in the US, however, he been playing in college for the past four years with Spring Hill College.

“I’m currently playing at Spring Hill College.  We play in the Alabama NCAA Division 2 Gulf South Conference and I have been there for the past four years, the time has flown by,” Eli said.

“The biggest aspect of my game that has improved since I last played at home is my total understanding of the game.

"I now see things differently and quicker on the floor to try make the right decisions. 

"Here in the States the style of play is quite different, the speed of the game is different and adapting to the speed was a challenge, however, it has made me more of a well-rounded basketball player.

“Our team is doing well at the moment.

"We started Conference play with two wins. We have eight seniors on the team, which is massive in terms of experience, and having such a seasoned team is huge down the stretch in close games.

“I played on the U16, U18 and U20 Irish programs which was amazing experience, and I always enjoyed them immensely. 

"Finishing with five wins and only one loss in 2022 with the Irish U20 team was probably the most memorable experience for me.

“I have enjoyed the last four years very much, but it has come with plenty of ups and downs. 

"I’ve had a surgery in the last two off seasons in order to get ready for the season itself. 

"I would like to keep playing if possible, but I’m unsure if that is possible when all is said and done. 

"The two elbow surgeries were to repair and reconstruct tendons and ligaments. 

"The first was in 2023 and most recently, I had one this past summer. 

"However, I am a senior, I am doing everything I can to get over the line and finish the season healthy," Eli added.

Mikey O’Mahony in his third year in college but in his fourth year in the US after doing a year of high school at The Phelps School in Pennsylvania.

The former Fr Mathew's player O’Mahony is now playing college basketball with Dominican University in New York, which is about 30 minutes north of Manhattan in New York.

In his time away all aspects of Mikey’s game has greatly improved and that was shown when he played with the Irish U20 3x3 side last summer in Romania.

“My defence has definitely improved the most out of necessity,” Mikey said.

“The game in the US is far quicker and has far more high-level athletes than back home, so if you don’t become a capable defender, you won't see the court very often. 

"My overall game has definitely improved also thanks to having access to great facilities to train and practise on a daily basis.

“I switched my degree course after my second year from Sports Management to Maths and Business Management, so I’ve had to do extra classes in order to catch up. 

"So, balancing the classes and the heavy training schedule on top of every else that comes with being in college has been the biggest challenge for me.

“By our standards we’ve had a poor start to the year. 

"We have had five wins and four losses and we travelled to Melbourne, Florida recently to play two big games where we lost to Lynn University 82-77, however I helped our team beat Florida Tech (Neptune player Darragh O’Sullivan’s old school) 96-70 by scoring 11 points. 

"I’ve played decent when called upon this year, but I’m still not playing as well or as much as I’d like. 

"I’m hoping to have a bigger role come the end of the season in order to help us win a CACC Championship title."

Mikey is hoping to stay and work in the US over for a few weeks after his season finishes before coming back to Ireland to try earn a spot on the U23 Ireland 3X3 team and try build on the success they had last July and August. 

He has had an incredible international career where he captained the U16 and U18 Irish teams and was also was on the U20 team a year young in 2022 when they went 5-1 at the tournament.

“The 3X3 experience last summer was incredible. 

"It was great to play free flowing basketball with and against some of the top level players in Ireland and across Europe. 

"We had great success during trips to Scotland, Lithuania and Romania. 

"We beat Lithuania who were the number four ranked team globally during our trip to Romania,” O’Mahony concluded.