What has gone wrong for Super League champions UCC Demons this season?

UCC Demons went from bad to worse last weekend when they were eliminated by Limerick Celtics in the Pat Duffy Men’s National Cup.

The latest defeat was their sixth loss of the season with their only win coming against their great rivals Energywise Ireland Neptune who are also having a horrific campaign.

On Saturday, Demons travel to play Eanna and it's hard to see them getting a result against their Dublin rivals.

When results are not going the way of teams, managers or coaches usually end up getting fired. Demons' Danny O’Mahony has credit in the bank as he guided them to Super League success last season and a National Cup triumph in 2024 but this campaign is becoming a nightmare.

The problem Demons are having is the lack of numbers from their Irish players which begs the question of where has the goodwill factor gone from a team coming off a championship win.

SERIOUS PROBLEM

At this level of basketball, if you cannot pass the ball then there is a serious problem in your squad and that’s the way it looks with this Demons team.

American Sharriff Black is consistently turning the ball over with poor passing and looking through the squad, there is a major problem in that department.

The latest Demons loss must be frustrating for their hierarchy and fans because, in all honesty, they have dropped down a few levels from what we witnessed in the last few years.

Coming down the stretch, Limerick Celtics went into zone defence and suddenly Demons were clueless in what to do in order to break it down.

From my experience of basketball playing against a zone defence should make it easier to score but this Demons team lack the basketball IQ when they are put to the test.

Captain David Lehane played 29.43 and contributed zero points, with the Hannigan twins having four points each in 14 minutes of restricted court time.

The Irish players were always an integral part of Demons teams over their 60-year history and now the battle is on to stay competing at the top level.

One would have to state Demons' Irish players are not at it this season and many are now asking did quality Americans over the last few years cover some cracks.

When Elijah Tillman was at the post and they had an American guard like Patrick Robinson, they always found a way to score. Current duo Jarvis Doles and Sharriff Black do not possess the same qualities to get this Demons team over the line.

Eanna are not a quality side when you get among them, as Ballincollig did in their cup win, but have this Demons team bottle for the battle only time will tell.

Pointing fingers at this stage of the season shouldn’t be tolerated as winning basketball games is all that really matters for now.