GORDON SET TO CALL IT A COMEBACK

Former NBA guard Ben Gordon has been handed a shock recall into the Great Britain squad for next month’s EuroBasket qualifiers, a year after he played his last game.

The 33-year-old, who was born in London, has yet to win a cap for GB after withdrawing from three previous summer campaigns, including the 2012 Olympics.

But with Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng and CSKA Moscow centre Joel Freeland also continuing their own international exiles, Gordon – who has been without a club since he was waived by the Orlando Magic last June – has been named on the 24-man long list for training camp by coach Joe Prunty.

His announcement will, on past record, be no guarantee of an appearance even if the ex-NBA Sixth Man of the Year is looking to make a comeback within European basketball.

Olympian Kyle Johnson will also return for a campaign that sees GB face Macedonia, Luxembourg and Hungary in their quest to reach next year’s finals.

Over half the roster is aged 26 or younger, with eight players returning to contention twelve months after their debut. Alex Young, Joe Hart, Teddy Okereafor, Will Saunders, Robert Gilchrist, Fahro Alihodzic, Zak Wells, and Chris Caird all featured in either last year’s Copper Box friendly against New Zealand and Leiden tournament. 6’11 centre Gabe Olaseni is another young prospect to feature.

But Myles Hesson has opted out of the qualifiers.

“It has been extremely challenging already in simply naming the squad,” said Prunty, who will again be assisted by Nate Reinking “Camp invitations for this campaign are the most competitive they have been. As with every year, naming the squad has its unique challenges but the amount of passion for the program has grown immensely since 2013. Spots will continue to become more competitive in the future and that is a good thing.”

“There are players not named to the final 24 for various reasons. Each player every summer is in a different situation which presents different issues. Myles Hesson, for example, has grown tremendously in the last 3 years. We have a great relationship with Myles and we know he is still part of the British Basketball family.”

Elsewhere, Great Britain face Croatia on Friday afternoon in the quarter-finals of the European Under-20 Championships in Chalkida.

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