'A crazy position' - Fulton embracing NBA dream
Growing up as a basketball-mad kid in Belfast, CJ Fulton never could have imagined the position he would now be in. The 22-year-old had already been a trailblazer in college bastketball with Lafayette and the Charleston Cougars, but now he has moved a step closer to the biggest goal of them all - the NBA. In his senior year last season, the guard averaged 7.8 points and 6.5 assists per game for the Cougars.After missing out in the initial NBA draft, Fulton will play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA's Summer League. I'd never thought I'd be in this position, it was about what contracts or leagues I could get in Europe," said Fulton about his post-college career."The opportunity came up to work a few NBA workouts and I obviously couldn't turn those down. "It's a crazy position to be in but I'm just embracing the opportunity."
The NBA Summer League is a pre-season tournament that allows teams to assess their drafted players, squad players who lacked minutes in the regular season or, in Fulton's case, undrafted players. Fulton was on holiday in Los Angeles with some friends when his agent texted to say the Timberwolves initially wanted him to join them for a workout. Two days later he was in Minnesota, and another workout followed with the Denver Nuggets.But it was once he was back home in Belfast seeing family and friends that his agent called with the news he was hoping for. Although Fulton missed out on selection in the draft, Minnesota liked what they saw and he was going to be part of their Summer League roster. "I had a workout there and it must have been alright," said a modest Fulton, whose father, Adrian, also represented Ireland."I was buzzing. I kind of had an idea I would be getting an update from my agent after the draft as the Timberwolves had been in touch, but I was over the moon and I'm really excited."
'The NBA would be unreal'
The Summer League, which takes place over the space of 11 days in Las Vegas in July, is an opportunity for Fulton to impress in front of the biggest names in the sport. Fulton is aiming to become the third Irish-born player to earn the chance to compete at the highest level in the United States after Pat Burke and Susan Moran."It gives teams a chance to evaluate their group and make a decision on their roster going into the year," added the Ireland international. "I'ts crazy to think about and I never thought I'd be in this position. "We've a training camp in Minnesota for a few days and then we head out to Vegas as a team. I'll try and learn as much as I can and embrace the opportunity. "Hopefully I can give a good account of myself, but it will be really cool to see all the talent. There will be 30 teams there and celebrities, the whole deal so I'm really excited."Fulton says "you never know what can happen" but feels he has options outside the NBA if the Timberwolves look elsewhere. He says the G-League, the NBA's team-affiliated development league, could be on the cards or he could return to Europe to forge a professional career - as was his initial plan before his NBA dreams sparked into life. "The NBA would be unreal but we'll see what happens. "I never really thought it was in the picture for me. My goal coming out of college was to try and get to the highest levels of Europe. "I didn't think I would get this opportunity but now that I'm here I'll try and make the most of it."It would be pretty big."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
14 minutes ago
- Times
Fifa urged to extend half-time and double drinks break at 2026 World Cup
Fifa is being urged to bring in a longer half-time interval and two drinks breaks instead of one before next year's World Cup due to concerns around extreme heat. The international players' union Fifpro says the conditions at the Club World Cup in the United States are almost certain to be replicated at next year's men's World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada — and will potentially be even worse at the 2030 tournament in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Fifpro wants Fifa to double the number of drinks breaks and to make half-time breaks 20 minutes instead of the maximum 15 — that would need the agreement of the International FA Board, which makes decisions on the laws of the game. The union says nine of the 16 host cities of next year's World Cup have 'very high' or 'extremely high' risk of heat-stress injury during the tournament. It also wants Fifa to postpone afternoon kick-offs to the evenings if the temperature is too high and says such a step should have been taken when Bayern Munich played Benfica last week in Charlotte, North Carolina. FifPro's chief medical officer, Professor Vincent Gouttebarge, said players needed 20 minutes at half-time in extreme heat to be able to rehydrate. 'Only giving players 15 minutes is not enough at these temperatures — you cannot ingest enough in such a short time,' he said. 'If we anticipate the biggest tournament on earth next year and in Mexico as well there are some venues where games played during the afternoon are likely to be very extreme for health and performance of the players. 'We are anticipating that there are going to be more problems for the coming years in the 2030 World Cup in Spain and Portugal, perhaps even worse.' Alexander Bielefeld, Fifpro's director of global policy, said Fifa should avoid scheduling afternoon kick-offs in high-risk cities. 'What we have seen in the Club World Cup has to be a wake-up call for Fifa,' he said. 'It's clear that certain areas in the USA, especially in Florida, where there is a higher risk and a need to avoid midday kick-offs — so games scheduled in these cities should be moved to a later time. The health and safety of players must take priority over commercial interests, including the broadcasters.'
Reuters
32 minutes ago
- Reuters
FIFPRO mulls 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat
MIAMI, June 30 (Reuters) - Global players' union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat. Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered 'extreme risk' for heat-related illness. Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fueling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes. FIFPRO's heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body's ability to cool itself. Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players' health. By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA's own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits. Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT. 'Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,' said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO's Medical Director. 'Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.' LONGER HALFTIMES Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat. 'You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,' he said. 'It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.' The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month's Club World Cup where two matches -- Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe. 'According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,' Gouttebarge said. FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical. 'FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,' said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary. 'They have actually modified how they've been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO's input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it's better that they have adapted.' FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup. 'This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,' said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations. 'We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,' he added referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Concerned NFL fans react to reports scandalized Deshaun Watson is mentoring Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders
After reports indicated that Cleveland's scandalized starting quarterback is mentoring the young stars on the team, sports fans panicked and shared concern that his troublesome characteristics may rub off on him. Deshaun Watson is set to miss most of, if not all of (depending on the healing process), the 2025 NFL season due to a re-aggravated Achilles injury. He initially missed over half of the season last year from that tear, but hurt himself while he was healing - serving as a further setback. It's left a vacuum in the starting role that's expected to be filled - initially - by Joe Flacco. However, the backup roles will be competitive all offseason. While Kenny Pickett is believed to have the second-string job all but wrapped up, it's a battle of rookies for the third spot featuring third-rounder and Oregon product Dillon Gabriel against fifth-rounder and Colorado prospect Shedeur Sanders. So, with Sanders presenting plenty of future promise for the Browns, Watson has reportedly taken the son of Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders 'under his wing', according to Mary Kay Cabot. Considering previous accusations levied against the 29-year-old quarterback, some have viewed that as a poor character for the young Sanders to be associating with. Barstool Sports podcaster Dan 'Big Cat' Katz tweeted, 'Uhhhh uh oh,' implying a poor decision by the rookie. Content creator and Cleveland sports fan Gabb Goudy posted, 'yeah no thanks'. Many others posted various GIFs and videos of negative reactions - all suggesting it's a bad idea to have been accused (but not convicted) of sexual assault by over 20 massage therapists in Houston. Watson's offering support to all four quarterbacks, who would likely all be behind him on the depth chart if healthy, but it's his work with the rookies which is especially notable. 'Watson has been an awesome teammate inside the quarterback room and meeting rooms, and has been a great cheerleader for the four quarterbacks vying for the starting job,' Cabot reported Sunday, citing sources. Cabot added: 'He's been especially helpful to the rookies in Gabriel and Sanders, who are working overtime to remain in the starting mix.' As for Sanders, Cabot says that Watson is helping him 'come up the learning curve quickly, and it's been working.' She also points out that Watson 'is only too happy to repay the favor' by mentoring Deion's son after the former cornerback supported the injured Cleveland quarterback after suffering his injury in October 2024. Watson's future with the Browns is up in the air after he re-structured his contract following his January surgery. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam openly derided his team's move to trade for the former Houston Texans quarterback - dubbing his $230m contract a 'big swing and miss'. But the future for the franchise could lie in either of the quarterbacks they drafted. Sanders, who was projected to be a top-five selection, slid all the way to the fifth round this year. Two rounds prior, the Browns shockingly selected Gabriel.
