One of the biggest stories in last season’s British basketball action, Evan Walshe, has a new home for the inaugural Super League Basketball campaign as he’s made the move to join Andreas Kapoulas and the Bristol Flyers.
At 26 years old, the British combo guard is heading to the south-west off the back of perhaps his best personal season in the professional game.
As one of the hottest British talents in the game right now, we caught up with Walshe ahead of the new campaign to discuss his beginnings in the game before landing on the professional scene.
“I played for the first time at 13 years old when I found my way to a basketball camp once during the Easter holidays, and I loved it from the beginning. I had been a football kid all my life up to that point, but after the first experience I joined a local team in Aylesbury and climbed the ladder quite quickly through regional teams, England teams, Oaklands then NCAA.
“I remember very vividly that a coach said to me in those early days how I could take basketball as far as I want if I committed to it and threw myself into the game, which is something that has resonated with me ever since and I’ve always remembered. I never expected it to take me as far as it has, but the journey has been incredible.
“We were in a meeting with the Flyers the other day where everybody introduced themselves and said when they started playing, with all the Americans saying from ages four to seven and the Brits were from 11 to 15. I do reminisce on how it could have been this or that in a joking way, but I think things are changing and the culture is improving here for basketball.
“I do see a lot more basketball hoops on drives now and a lot of kids walking around in jerseys, so the impact of the game is growing and it’s great to see that change at the grassroots coming slowly, as we’re always going to battle against those sports like football or rugby.”
Building in Britain
After a successful collegiate career in the NCAA with Barry where the 6’4” GB international played over 100 games at the Division II level, Walshe sampled his first experience of the pro level with the Surrey Scorchers in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Aside from a four-month spell in Spain between his stints with Surrey and the Leicester Riders, Walshe’s entire professional career has been spent on these shores, with British fans treated to the opportunity of witnessing his development firsthand, and the energetic guard discussed the progress he made with the Scorchers and Riders.
“Coming out of the pandemic I always had the vision that I’d leave college and play professionally overseas, but Covid took me home and Coach Creon [Raftopoulos] gave me a great opportunity to start my career with the Surrey Scorchers, which I’m eternally grateful for.
“It was a season of learning and seeing where I fit in at the pro level. The rookies who adapt best figure out very quickly where they can impact winning and be as efficient as possible. I’ve always been an energy changer and bringing that to Surrey was my biggest focus.
“If that meant scoring the ball, playing defence, crashing boards, whatever it took I was going to do it and find my feet that way. Then I started to figure out what I was really good at and how I could exploit defenders more, and I’ve kept growing from there.
“The season and a half I spent in Leicester was invaluable for me to be a part of a winning culture on a day-to-day basis. The group of players we had was phenomenal and we made friends for life over a two-year period. Coach Rob [Paternostro] knows how to win and having the chance to work under him was great.
“It was a humbling experience in the beginning as I wanted to play more, but I learnt a lot from the guys around me whilst waiting for my chance and I’ve always prided myself on being ready when my number is called regardless of how many minutes I get, and I learned how to be consistently efficient whether I was starting or coming off the bench.”
Making waves in Manchester
A difficult campaign for the Manchester Giants last term was often made less gloomy when Walshe was on the floor in his sole campaign representing the club.
Running defences across the country ragged with his energy, Walshe waltzed into the headlines on a weekly basis, winning several Player of the Game nods and Team of the Week nominations as the Brit’s energy and efficiency caught the eye throughout the campaign, resulting in a National Team call-up this past summer.
“I knew that Manchester was going to be tough, but I felt like I needed to go and prove myself so whatever the situation was with the team or how results were I focused on being the best I could be for my teammates and the fans.
“On a personal level I’ve never felt as confident in my game as I did last year, and I just wanted to put that on show for everybody to see that I wasn’t going to just be a bench player for the rest of my career.
“I wrote down at the beginning of the season that I wanted to get a GB call-up by the end of the year and thankfully it came over the summer, but it was especially nice because I was there with guys I’d gone through the junior age groups with, and it’s offered me even more motivation to want to get back there in the future.”
Moving forward with the Flyers
A new chapter awaits for Walshe as he joins Andreas Kapoulas’ Bristol in a historic season for the team, where they will complete their 20th campaign in professional British basketball.
The guard and his new play-caller have a long history together, stretching back to the days when Walshe was an exciting prospect in Great Britain’s junior programmes, and the 26-year-old discussed the motivations behind his switch to the south-west.
“I was looking at possibly going back to Europe to play, but I had a chance to work with Andreas this summer for GB and he expressed interest very early on in signing me for this year, talking about Bristol’s ambitions and things like that, so it was on my mind all summer.
“If I was going to stay in the UK I knew I wanted to be somewhere that had European basketball to offer where I could compete to start games, so when I weighed it all up then the Flyers made perfect sense.
“It feels like a perfect match. I have great familiarity with Andreas having worked with him in the GB Under-20s and although we’ve only been in practice for a week or two we have a great understanding already. He knows what I’m going to give every night and I know what he expects, so I’m very happy and excited for what we can achieve together.”