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Scotts Lakers officials have paid tribute to outgoing American star Seán O’Brien who has departed the club with immediate effect.

O’Brien joined as a last minute signing just before the 2018/19 season began and the Philadelphia native spearheaded the team’s playoff charge, frequently putting up match-winning numbers with his excellent shooting and selfless, pin-point passing.

The Lakers impressed en route to the last four of the Division 1 playoffs and along with club captain Mark Greene, O’Brien was undoubtedly the star of the campaign.

Speaking to the Killarney Advertiser, Scotts Lakers Team Manager John Brosnan said O’Brien had been “brilliant for the club, both on and off the court”.

“Seán has done great work with our youth teams as well as coaching basketball with the Kerry Stars Special Olympics team,” Brosnan said.

“On the court he had a great season as well. He’s a team player - it was never about points with Seán. It was always ‘team first’. He brought great intensity night after night to practice and continued this into every game. His ball-handling skills were superb and he proved to be one of the best players in the league.

“He brought the best out of every player he played with.

“He maximised his stay in Killarney too and he took in all he could, both locally and nationally. He proved to be a hugely popular figure with the locals around the town. He is simply 100% quality.

“We would like to thank him for everything he did for the club both on and off the court and for the hugely positive impact he had. We wish him the very best for the future.”

From a journalist’s point of view, I couldn’t speak highly enough of O’Brien and the professionalism he showed throughout his year in Killarney. He was very forthcoming and he always spoke positively about his teammates and about the town in general. We wish him all the best at his next club.

Pic: Eamonn Keogh.