Paul Cummins (born County Kildare, Ireland, 1984) is an Irish basketball player who plays for the Ireland national basketball team.
Contents |
Cummins was born in County Kildare, Ireland in 1984. After he was named 'junior Irish player of the year' in 2001, he went to play basketball and study at the Ravenscroft School in North Carolina. Cummins then attended top ranked national powerhouseSouth Kent School for one year (2003) and graduated as one of 6 basketball players to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship from South Kent.[1]
Cummins is an Irish senior men's international basketball player and has represented Ireland since he was 15 years old. While attending high-school in America, Cummins was named to the North Carolina All-State basketball and track teams. He led the Ravenscroft Ravens to state finals in both basketball and soccer, and was the NC state long-jump champion in 2003. At the South Kent School, Cummins joined a nationally ranked basketball team that had six players sign with NCAA Division-1 basketball programs, and one player, Dorell Wright, who made the jump directly to the NBA. Throughout the history of Irish basketball thus far, Cummins was one a very small number of Irish-born male players to ever earn a basketball scholarship to an American NCAA Division I college (Lafayette College) under head Coach Fran O'Hanlon. By the end of his college career he was ranked 5th in most three pointers made in Lafayette basketball history and was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honor Court. Cummins scored 20 plus points on three occasions, including a big home win over Army. As a freshman, Cummins high-scored with 13 points against final-four team Louisville (2004).
After graduating in 2008, Cummins played for the City of Edinburgh Kings basketball club where he won the Scottish National Cup, was the Scottish cup final MVP (24 points), was named 'National-League Import Player of the Year' and finished as the Scottish league's top scorer at 26 ppg.
In the Scottish Universities league final, Cummins scored 54 points as Edinburgh defeated rivals Glasgow to win the title. Cummins set up a basketball clinic for Scottish and Irish youth players named 'Hoopsclinic' which has grown each year and promotes the game of basketball to a wide network of youth players keen on developing their skills. In 2010 Cummins signed with the Ulster Elks and averaged 18 ppg in the Irish superleague.
Cummins graduated Lafayette College (USA) in 2008 with a BA double-degree in psychology and music. Cummins is a qualified performance psychologist, having received his MSc degree in 2009 from the University of Edinburgh. He then completed an MBA at the University of Ulster in 2010 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Leadership.