'I was pretty impressed with the Irish, CJ. He is a true point guard' - NBA dream alive for Fulton
The 23-year-old Ireland international finished strongly on Saturday night and also produced his first basket for the Timberwolves in a defeat to the Houston Rockets.
Advertisement
The 6'2″ point guard from Belfast caught the eye with his displays and might have done enough for a non-guaranteed contract spot for a further look.
Pretty cool to be here seeing Ireland's CJ Fulton doing CJ Fulton things on the @NBASummerLeague stage. pic.twitter.com/UKgUbnaGVi — Niall McDermott (@NiallMcD) July 19, 2025
Kevin Hanson, Minnesota's assistant coach and director of player development, name checked Fulton. 'I was pretty impressed with the Irish, CJ,' he said.
'I mean, he is a true point guard. So that kind of stands out in today's game. There's not a whole lot of true point guards,' he told Zone Coverage.
'He kind of reminds me of TJ McConnell (Indiana Pacers), just not as aggressive to score so we'll get him going in the regard, but I mean he's got all the reads. There's a lot of new faces out there, there's just a lot of guys competing out there. It was awesome to watch.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
29 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ireland will big winners as two of their rookies chosen for Lions midweek clash
Nobody in world rugby has 'travelled' as far as Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson this season. Osborne, finished the 2023/24 season with 39 starts and a further nine games as a sub at Leinster and having scored five tries. He had yet to be capped by Ireland. Clarkson, finished last season having tallied 19 starts and a further 22 games as a sub at Leinster and having scored two tries. He had yet to be capped by Ireland. This season, the first mentioned 23 year-old has added a further 15 club starts, two more as a sub, adding eight tries and, having made his Ireland debut, earned eight caps. The second-named 25 year-old has added a further 11 club starts, seven more as a sub, scored eight tries, adding two tries and, having made his Ireland debut, also earned eight caps. And as if that wasn't 'far' enough both have spent the last few weeks traversing the globe following initially going on tour with Ireland but getting called up by the British and Irish Lions. Osborne has travelled 19,800kms Dublin-Tbilisi-Brisbane-Melbourne. And that's not quite matching Clarkson's 26,250kms Dublin-Tbilisi-Lisbon-Melbourne jaunt. They are both in the same place now though and, in something of a surprise twist, have been chosen for the British and Irish Lions against a First Nations & Pasifika XV at Melbourne's Marvel stadium (11am Irish time, today). It has been a jump from a national squad to an inter-national squad and Osborne is willing to accept it's a fantastic opportunity. British & Irish Lions Gym Session, Anglican Church Grammar School, Brisbane - Thomas Clarkson (Image: ©INPHO/Billy Stickland) 'Yeah, I suppose when you're in the squad with people with a lot more experience, you're probably looking to learn off them a lot. You're looking up to them, you're asking more questions. "Whereas, maybe in the Ireland environment, I've been there a couple of years now. "So (with the Summer Tour) it was probably about passing on a bit more knowledge than I would if so many players hadn't been away." It is interesting to that Osborne has been called up to play for the Lions at no13 with Garry Ringrose being asked to sit on the bench. This could be that Farrell is not fully convinced about Ringrose recovery from injury or, more likely, that he doesn't want to overwork the player as he is in mind for the Second Test matchday squad. There was also the option to start Osborne at full-back which would have allowed Blair Kinghorn ease his way back from injury via playing on the wing first. 'I suppose, defensively, as a no13, you're probably a bit of a defensive leader in the team," says Osborne who owns up to marginally preferring playing in the centre. "You look at Garry, what he does for whatever team he's involved with these days, he's really, I suppose, combative and he leads the line. 'It's probably different from, say, being a full-back. You're close to the ball as well. "There's that little bit around where you're scanning, you're talking to the ten and stuff like that. So there are differences, but I'm enjoying each position. I'm ready." The young Leinster star has been involved in a lot of games this season but playing for the Lions is yet another level up. 'It was obviously challenging but I really enjoyed the challenge. "The more big games you play, the more you want to play in the big games, if you know what I mean. "Once you get a first taste of a really big game, you do anything you can to get back in there and you learn a lot from the preparation in the week and you learn a lot from those games so I really enjoyed them. "I suppose it probably builds you as a player as you're going along and getting those experiences. "I think you definitely get a bit more confidence in your abilities once you're able to perform in those games." But then Jamie's rugby career seems to be one challenge following another. Last season he had to contend with Jordie Barratt being parachuted into Leinster for seven months, December to July, and having to fight for his spot. Barrett may have returned to New Zealand but Leinster have seen fit to sign Rieko Ioane on a similar deal to Barrett. 'I'd say there's a lot of players in Leinster who are probably feeling similar (about their place) because obviously Rieko's played in a lot of different jerseys and he's obviously spent time no13 recently. "He's also played a lot in the wing, so there's probably a lot of us in Leinster who are eager to see what he's like. "I'm looking forward to the challenge of trying to maybe compete with him in training and also be his teammate on the pitch" Clarkson has had something of a similar fight on his hands to get first team game time at Leinster as he has theoretically been 'blocked' by another foreign import, French star Rabah Slimani. Yet his call up, along with Osborne, to the Lions suggests two players who simply improved by virtue of watching, learning and competing. Ireland are surely going to end up major winners here. First Nations & Pasifika XV v The British & Irish Lions, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Tuesday 22nd July, 2025, KO: 11:00 BST 15. Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse/Scotland) #882 14. Darcy Graham (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) 13. Jamie Osborne (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) 12. Owen Farrell (Saracens/England) #780 (c) 11. Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #841 10. Fin Smith (Northampton Saints/England) #862 9. Ben White (Toulon/Scotland) #883 1. Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) #868 2. Jamie George (Saracens/England) #819 3. Finlay Bealham (Connacht Rugby/Ireland) #856 4. James Ryan (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #880 5. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors/ Scotland) #869 6. Jac Morgan (Ospreys/Wales) #861 7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #874 8. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints/England) #865 Replacements: 16. Ewan Ashman (Edinburgh Rugby/Scotland) 17. Rory Sutherland (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) #840 18. Tom Clarkson (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) 19. Gregor Brown (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) 20. Ben Earl (Saracens/England) #857 21. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints/England) #860 22. Marcus Smith (Harlequins/ England) #855 23. Garry Ringrose (Leinster Rugby/Ireland) #872 Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Lions sweat on Irish duo as injuries cast shadow over second Test selection against Australia
JOE McCarthy and Mack Hansen were both absent from British and Irish Lions training in Melbourne on Monday. But there is optimism within the camp that the Irish pair will be fit for Saturday's second Advertisement 2 Andy Farrell has some selection decisions to make ahead of the second test vs Australia 2 Joe McCarthy and Mack Hansen are injury concerns for the Lions Hansen, who missed the first Test due to a foot injury, could be in contention to feature at the Melbourne Cricket Ground this weekend. The Leinster lock was forced off early in the second half during the Lions' 28-19 victory in Brisbane. Neither Advertisement READ MORE ON RUGBY But the Lions received a boost with the return of Blair Kinghorn and Garry Ringrose to training. And Speaking on Monday, he said: "You get to this stage in any tour, but there is still loads to be played out. "There's an opportunity for guys to play in a Lions jersey tomorrow, and opportunities for those performances to get a return on being involved next Saturday and the week after. Advertisement Most read in Rugby Union "There's still so much to play for, for us as a team, but for guys individually as well. "I think it's probably unspoken, but they know it's there. They know that there's an opportunity. England rugby stars marched off pitch after lightning strikes vs USA.. with match already delayed by hour due to storms "They know that every time they get an opportunity to perform, I think Faz [head coach Andy Farrell] in his selection has, on the whole, given guys opportunities based on a number of things. "But one of them being some of the performances that they've created on tour. Advertisement "I don't think it will be any different tomorrow, with the prize potentially of being involved in the second or third Test. "The selection meeting won't happen until after tomorrow night. "That can't happen because we need to make sure that we're fully focused on that game and giving guys that are involved in that game an opportunity."
Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Olympian Sharlene Mawdsley pays tribute to boyfriend Michael Breen after Tipperary win
The champion runner was among those wearing the blue and gold jersey cheering on Tipperary after the Premier County won the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship final at Croke Park in Dublin yesterday. In a post on social media, the sprinter from Newport in west Tipperary posted a picture of the couple holding the Liam MacCarthy Cup. "Proud of you every day, but that little bit prouder today,' she wrote on Instagram, also sharing a heartwarming photo of the pair hugging each other. The pair hit the headlines earlier this month when they were pictured kissing after Tipperary beat Kilkenny in the All-Ireland semi-finals. They did a 'hard launch' of their romance on May 18, following Tipperary's win against Waterford in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship. The Olympian athlete shared a photo of herself and Breen from the pitch in their matching county colours, captioning it 'Tippin' on'. Irish Olympian Sharlene Mawdsley and hurler Michael Breen celebrate Tipperary's win in Croke Park yesterday. Photo: Instagram/Sharlene Mawdsley Michael Breen of Tipperary celebrates with his girlfriend, Irish Olympian, Sharlene Mawdsley and the Liam MacCarthy Cup after his side's victory in the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Cork and Tipperary at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile Mawdsley was on the Ireland team that came fourth in the Paris Olympics last year in the 4x400m relay. She suffered heartache just last month following the sudden death of her father, Thomas 'Tucker' Mawdsley, on June 3, at the age of 67. The runner returned to the track just a few weeks later when a last-minute decision to compete saw her finishing third in the Women's 400m at the European Team Championships in Slovenia. Achieving a season's best, she dedicated her bronze medal win to her father. Tipperary's defender Michael Breen (31), also plays for Tipperary Senior Championships club Ballina. His hurling career started at his home town of Ballina on the Limerick border, where he joined his local club at an early age. Breen made his senior championship debut as a substitute in the 2015 Munster semi-final against Limerick. He was nominated for All-Star awards at midfield in 2016 and 2020 and won an InterProvincial hurling medal with Munster in 2016. The hurler also posted a picture on Instagram with his teammates holding a trophy after Tipperary's victory. "Liam is coming home,' he captioned the post. Tipperary claimed a 29th All-Ireland hurling title on Sunday, their first since 2019, defeating Cork with a 3-27 to 1-18. rs. Michael Breen (right), with Eoghan Connolly and Robert Doyle (left). Photo: Instagram/Michael Breen
