Sunday, Aug 5, 2007
Posted on Sun, Aug. 05, 2007  by BERNIE PETIT   

It's always special when an athlete gets the opportunity to represent his country.

For Charlotte Catholic's 16 year old Ryan Kilmartin, the opportunity to play for Wales in the 18-under European Basketball Division C Championships last month was twice as nice.

Kilmartin, born in North Carolina, was able to play for the Wales team because his mother, Jane, a former Miss Wales, was born in the country, meaning he has dual citizenship.

Such a rare opportunity wasn't lost on Kilmartin, a rising junior at Catholic.

"I had a chance to put on a country's uniform and play for my country, which was phenomenal," said Kilmartin. "Plus, with being the only American in the tournament, it was like I was representing America as well."

The championships were held July 16-21 in Wales. Wales finished 4-1 in the tournament, losing 86-62 in the finals to Scotland.

Kilmartin averaged a modest three points and one rebound for Wales, with his best outing -- a four-point, three-rebound game -- coming in a 103-36 blowout win over Azerbaijan.

Still, the experience afforded Kilmartin, who has only played one year of competitive basketball (for Catholic's junior varsity team last season), ample opportunity to work on becoming a better player.

He arrived in Wales 10 days before the tournament to work out and practice with his teammates. The schedule included hour long shooting sessions in the morning and evenings, rigorous practices that focused on fundamental play and numerous film study sessions.

It also gave him a greater respect of the basketball that's played outside of the United States.

"There are great basketball players all over the world," he said.

His teammates didn't have any preconceived notions of him as an American player, he said.

"The only way they thought of me was as another player trying to help them win a championship," Kilmartin said.

The biggest difference he said he noticed between American players and their European counterparts is in fundamental play.

"They're working on lay ups and jump shots while we're busy doing crossovers and mixed tape dunks," he said. "They're keeping it simple and trying to get the job done."

Keeping things simple also describes Kilmartin's style of play, which is perhaps one reason he fit in so well with his teammates.

The 6-foot-4 forward played both forward positions and center for the Catholic JV squad last year and served as a primary ball handler in crucial situations. He was one of the top scorers and rebounders on his team and almost always made the right decision with the ball, said coach Dick Mazoyer.

"He knew how to make good judgments with his passing skills and shot selection," Mazoyer said.

Much of Kilmartin's basketball savvy comes from playing with his dad, Sean, who played for coach Bobby Cremins and Kevin Cantwell  at Appalachian State and played then professionally in Europe for three seasons, where he averaged nearly 27 points and 16 rebounds per outing.  

The elder Kilmartin has been an assistant coach for the Cougars JV team the past two seasons. But the two haven't really played hoops in the driveway since Ryan's eighth-grade year, when a game became so competitive that Ryan broke his right wrist.

"After that I stopped playing him because I didn't want to hurt him," the younger Kilmartin quipped.

Sean Kilmartin was an assistant coach at Holy Trinity Middle School while Ryan was a student there and an assistant JV coach at Catholic Ryan's freshman year. Despite his dad's presence, he didn't make a school team until this past season.

His dad has been and remains the biggest basketball influence in his life, he said.

"Everything," he said, "from the littlest thing to the biggest thing, I've learned from my dad."