Interview with SSE Airtricity Moycullen Star Brandon McGuire
SSE Airtricity Moycullen Head Coach John Cunningham went looking to bring in an American player ahead of the new Super League season, and that search led him to Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
The Head Coach of the basketball program there, Justin Potts, has a good idea of the type of player who can succeed in the Irish Super League as he explains, “I was in discussions with John (Cunningham) during the process. I have had two former players play in Ireland prior to Brandon so I was familiar with the league and what the teams look for. John and I exchanged some emails and we sent some film over on Brandon. I told John that Brandon would be a great addition to the team and the community. I really appreciate John giving Brandon the opportunity.”
Potts continued to tell us a little bit about the college, “Moravian is a small Liberal Arts College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It’s the 6th oldest college in America that has a very strong academic reputation. The men's basketball program plays an up-tempo running pressing style that is very aggressive, where we will be dictating the pace of the game for 40 minutes at 94 feet. Last season we were 19-9 which tied a school record for wins and we also won the 1st playoff game in 27 years. We lead the league in scoring 3's made and turnovers forced.”
Brandon is from the area but has roots in Hawaii, he was born in Philadelphia but his family was originally from Hawaii, “My great grandfather David Khana was from Hawaii until he moved to the States and met his wife.”
He began playing basketball when he was just eight years old. It was always his favourite sport and as the years went by his passion and knowledge of the game grew.
Sport played a vital role in Brandon’s life and he played multiple sports growing up. From playing center in basketball, he was also a quarter-back in football, a goalkeeper in soccer and a pitcher in baseball. While basketball was his favourite sport he actually wanted to play in the NFL. Luckily for Moravian College, and Moycullen, he stuck to basketball.
Brandon is very complimentary about his time in college and the coaches he worked under, “Playing for Moravian was the best experience of my life. The coaches I had over my four years were very helpful. They run an excellent program and the overall atmosphere of Moravian is wonderful. I would like to thank the Moravian Basketball Program for everything they have done for my family and me. Thank you Coach Potts, Coach Hernandez, Coach Covert, Coach Weiler and Coach Walker.”
We asked him how he would describe himself as a player, “I would like to describe myself as a finesse player. My game comes from my touch around the basket. Even though I am only 6' 4” I have worked on a quick hook shot that has been crucial to my success in and around the paint.”
“I would base my game off of Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs) or Boris Diaw (Atlanta, Phoenix, Charlotte, San Antonio, Utah). These two are good team players and they are specifically good at what they do. I like to believe that I am a system player that buys into the role that the team has given me. Doing this helps with the teams overall success.”
The Moravian Head Coach describes Brandon’s game, “Brandon is a very versatile player, his skill set is very diverse. He has the ability to step out and shoot the ball and also score in the post. He also has a great basketball IQ and is a very good passer who can facilitate offense from various spots on the floor.”
“He is a hard working guy that was a great role model for the under-classmen in our program. He was reliable and very consistent on a daily basis. Brandon was instrumental in our success this past season. He lead us in scoring and rebounding and led the conference in FG%. He was fun to coach and I appreciate all he did for the Moravian Basketball Program,” high praise indeed.
Surprisingly, when asked who his sporting hero was growing up Brandon instead of a basketball player, chose a baseball player. That player was out-fielder Gary Sheffield. “My sporting hero when I was a kid was Gary Sheffield. He was a baseball player. I liked him because my friends and I would play baseball and stickball together and I would picture myself as him. He was a very good home-run hitter and the reason why I liked him so much was because he batted left handed and while he was batting he would do a unique style of rocking his bat back and fourth which I thought was really interesting.” Sheffield played for 8 MLB clubs throughout his 21 year career including Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, New York Mets and the Florida Marlins where he won his one and only World Series in 1997.
He’s now moved to the west coast of Ireland, to a multi-cultural city known as the City of the Tribes, to play at the highest level of basketball in the country, and he’s added basketball coaching to his CV, “I have settled in nicely. I work for Elvery's (sportswear shop) in my spare time and I help coach the under 16 girls basketball team. I like to think that I have settled in nicely with my team-mates as well. They are a great group of guys and I hope they like me as much as I like them.” On his new coach Brandon said, “John is a great coach and I am very happy that he decided to give me a chance to come and play for Moycullen.”
What will he bring to SSE Airtricity Moycullen? Brandon said, “I like to believe that I bring a hardworking attitude to Moycullen. I take basketball extremely seriously and like the old saying goes, "Practice makes perfect".
From watching him in action he’s equally adept at both ends of the floor and is a shooting threat both inside and outside of the arc, which makes him difficult to defend against. He says, “I am equally comfortable inside and outside. I prefer to be in the paint just because it is a higher percentage shot. I do not mind being around traffic in the paint due to my touch around the basket and the help of the backboard. Adding the three point shot to my game just helped me to keep the bigger defenders honest while sticking me. I am extremely confident in my shot because I have worked hard over the years and put the time in on working on my shot.”
Check out some of Brandon's highlights from his time at Moravian College;
Most American players aren’t aware of the standard of the Super League in Ireland before arriving in the country, but that’s not the same for Brandon especially with the help of coach Potts, “I knew a little bit about the basketball in Ireland. My coach told me that it was a much more physical game over here compared to the States. But after a few games here I feel as if I found my groove offensively and defensively.”
After just 5 Super League games Brandon is averaging 20.8 points a game and had a stand-out performance in an 86-77 home victory over Éanna, scoring 33 points, going 5-8 from 3-point range. He also had 9 rebounds and went 4-5 from the free-throw line.
Moycullen Head Coach John Cunningham told us recently, “Brandon has worked out really well for us. I was very focused on getting a guy who could help us physically and still fit our structure, but there’s always a risk that what you think you’re getting is not what you get. However, in Brandon’s case, we got ‘exactly what it says on the tin.’
His ambitions for the season are, “My ambitions for the season ahead with Moycullen is to win the whole thing. I think we have a really good all around team filled with unselfish players that want to win. If we stick together and play hard I truly think we could win it all.”
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