At first glance, County Tyrone seems like an unlikely step for a basketball player who is widely regarded as one of the best point keepers of all time.
But in the spring of 1988, NBA star John Stockton showed up to coach at a basketball camp in the city of Dungannon in central Ulster.
The Utah Jazz veteran’s CV speaks for itself.
He still holds the record for most assists and career interceptions in the NBA and has two Olympic gold medals.
So how did an NBA Hall-of-Famer member from Spokane, Washington, get to Dungannon?
Speaking to BBC News NI, 58-year-old smiles as he recalls: “I have fond memories of Dungannon. I took a trip to Ireland with my wife, my son who was six months old at the era and my parents.
“I am Irish on my father’s side, so we wanted to trace his roots and while I was there, I was asked to stop at the camp.”
The person who made this request was Frankie O’Loane.
He has since died, but was the driving force behind basketball in Northern Ireland from the 1970s.
At the time of the NBA star’s Irish visit, Mr. O’Loane was a PE teacher at St Patrick’s College in Dungannon, where the basketball camp was held.
Stockton says he got an interesting first impression of Ireland: “When I was picked up by Frankie, the first thing I remember was trying to get his Irish oxford.
“The second thing I remember is arriving at the school, and right next to the playground, there was a large wire fence with helicopters and armored vehicles.”
Northern Ireland in 1988 was still in the midst of violence and military bases had been common throughout the country for almost 20 years.
The Dungannon military base was located next to two of the city’s post-primary schools.
“Your teammates are your family”
Stockton says he still has fond memories of the decor.
“While we were driving, we were stopped at an army checkpoint and at the school, it looked like there were helicopters coming and going every few minutes.
“It was certainly an interesting addition to the framework for basketball training.
“But I remember when I entered the camp, for me, it was a bit like a basketball camp that I would have returned home to the United States at that time.
“A wide variety of children with abilities, some who had never touched a basketball but others who were not too shabby for their age.”
“I love to see kids get into sports at a young age, for me, nothing like it. With basketball, you get on the field and it’s simple, your teammates are your family for the next few hours and these brotherhoods continue off the field. “
Fintan Colgan is a retired teacher from St Patrick’s Academy and has been involved in basketball for over 30 years.
He has clear memories of Stockton’s time at camp.
He said, “It was a surprise to the kids, when he came in there was a real presence about him and he didn’t talk to them downstairs but he talked a lot about getting into sports, which you don’t couldn’t improve without practice.
“He has had a lot of passes with him and his pass may be the best ever. I don’t think his assist record will be broken and that makes him an all-time player.”
Asked about the countless records he has, Stockton says he tends not to dwell on them.
“I don’t think too much about statistics. I know that is largely how I am defined, but you go out and play and put it there, whatever the story tells us, she tells us.
“When it’s raised, it’s pretty good to have the record, but I get credit for the efforts of many teammates who helped me with it, but it’s still good to keep it.”
Stockton is one of the most prominent Americans linked to Irish basketball, but during the 1980s, a wave of professional Americans came to Ireland to practice the sport.
A rule change had allowed each team in the Irish basketball league to recruit two professional players from abroad. It was a decision that would transform the sport and bring American players like Ed Randolph into the Irish league.
Randolph signed for Sporting Belfast in 1982 after playing college basketball at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. Her son Darren Randolph would become the goalkeeper for the Republic of Ireland football team.
For many American college players who missed the NBA cup, a career in Europe was a viable alternative.
This is something Stockton says he is also considering because after college he didn’t believe he would be chosen to play in the NBA.
“I had every intention of going to Europe. From a month before the NBA draft, I did not expect to be chosen and all of a sudden I was taken by Utah and the rest for me is history. “
“But if it hadn’t worked, I was planning on going abroad to play basketball but I didn’t choose where.”
When asked if he could have played in Ireland, he replied with a smile.
“Indeed, I could have, maybe even Dungannon.”
At first glance, County Tyrone seems like an unlikely step for a basketball player who is widely regarded as one of the best point keepers of all time.
But in the spring of 1988, NBA star John Stockton showed up to coach at a basketball camp in the city of Dungannon in central Ulster.
The Utah Jazz veteran’s CV speaks for itself.
He still holds the record for most assists and career interceptions in the NBA and has two Olympic gold medals.
So how did an NBA Hall-of-Famer member from Spokane, Washington, get to Dungannon?
Speaking to BBC News NI, 58-year-old smiles as he recalls: “I have fond memories of Dungannon. I took a trip to Ireland with my wife, my son who was six months old at the era and my parents.
“I am Irish on my father’s side, so we wanted to trace his roots and while I was there, I was asked to stop at the camp.”
The person who made this request was Frankie O’Loane.
He has since died, but was the driving force behind basketball in Northern Ireland from the 1970s.
At the time of the NBA star’s Irish visit, Mr. O’Loane was a PE teacher at St Patrick’s College in Dungannon, where the basketball camp was held.
Stockton says he got an interesting first impression of Ireland: “When I was picked up by Frankie, the first thing I remember was trying to get his Irish oxford.
“The second thing I remember is arriving at the school, and right next to the playground, there was a large wire fence with helicopters and armored vehicles.”
Northern Ireland in 1988 was still in the midst of violence and military bases had been common throughout the country for almost 20 years.
The Dungannon military base was located next to two of the city’s post-primary schools.
“Your teammates are your family”
Stockton says he still has fond memories of the decor.
“While we were driving, we were stopped at an army checkpoint and at the school, it looked like there were helicopters coming and going every few minutes.
“It was certainly an interesting addition to the framework for basketball training.
“But I remember when I entered the camp, for me, it was a bit like a basketball camp that I would have returned home to the United States at that time.
“A wide variety of children with abilities, some who had never touched a basketball but others who were not too shabby for their age.”
“I love to see kids get into sports at a young age, for me, nothing like it. With basketball, you get on the field and it’s simple, your teammates are your family for the next few hours and these brotherhoods continue off the field. “
Fintan Colgan is a retired teacher from St Patrick’s Academy and has been involved in basketball for over 30 years.
He has clear memories of Stockton’s time at camp.
He said, “It was a surprise to the kids, when he came in there was a real presence about him and he didn’t talk to them downstairs but he talked a lot about getting into sports, which you don’t couldn’t improve without practice.
“He has had a lot of passes with him and his pass may be the best ever. I don’t think his assist record will be broken and that makes him an all-time player.”
Asked about the countless records he has, Stockton says he tends not to dwell on them.
“I don’t think too much about statistics. I know that is largely how I am defined, but you go out and play and put it there, whatever the story tells us, she tells us.
“When it’s raised, it’s pretty good to have the record, but I get credit for the efforts of many teammates who helped me with it, but it’s still good to keep it.”
Stockton is one of the most prominent Americans linked to Irish basketball, but during the 1980s, a wave of professional Americans came to Ireland to practice the sport.
A rule change had allowed each team in the Irish basketball league to recruit two professional players from abroad. It was a decision that would transform the sport and bring American players like Ed Randolph into the Irish league.
Randolph signed for Sporting Belfast in 1982 after playing college basketball at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. Her son Darren Randolph would become the goalkeeper for the Republic of Ireland football team.
For many American college players who missed the NBA cup, a career in Europe was a viable alternative.
This is something Stockton says he is also considering because after college he didn’t believe he would be chosen to play in the NBA.
“I had every intention of going to Europe. From a month before the NBA draft, I did not expect to be chosen and all of a sudden I was taken by Utah and the rest for me is history. “
“But if it hadn’t worked, I was planning on going abroad to play basketball but I didn’t choose where.”
When asked if he could have played in Ireland, he replied with a smile.
“Indeed, I could have, maybe even Dungannon.”