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17 October 2026  7 min read

Building for the Future: Dan Clark on the Next Chapter for Great Britain

The roster assembled in the last window reflected that ambition, combining established international experience with a new generation of players beginning to make their mark at the highest levels of the game.

The challenge now is to sustain and build upon it.

Behind the scenes, the work to assemble that roster extends far beyond the players selected for any individual window.

“The Senior Men’s National Team has a depth chart that is ranging between 50 and 60 players at any given time,” explained Clark. “We track all their games, performances, milestones, how they’re playing and all our key metrics so that when the time comes we can have detailed conversations with the athlete how they fit into this programme.”

That ongoing dialogue is particularly important given the range of leagues and levels in which British players now compete. With players spread across the NBA, NCAA and EuroLeague, bringing everyone together is rarely a straightforward exercise.

GB assembled an exciting new-look roster for the recent win over Slovakia in Newcastle

For Clark, however, the aim remains consistent: to have the strongest possible group available whenever circumstances allow.

“We always want our best players available. In our last window, having Quinn Ellis, Amari Williams and Tosan Evbuomwan alongside our stalwarts in Carl Wheatle, Myles Hesson and Luke Nelson, as well as some other emerging talent, was really exciting, that mix was amazing for us as a team and GB as a basketball nation.

“We always want these players here, and as we prepare for the next window those conversations are already underway. There are always discussions about when the timing is right for all parties, and we’re working hard to make sure we have the best group possible.”

The arrival of Boston Celtic Williams and Barcelona’s Evbuomwan alongside the likes of veterans Wheatle, Hesson and Nelson generated considerable excitement around the programme, and Clark is determined to carry that energy into the upcoming window.

He is keen, though, to ensure that enthusiasm for emerging talent does not diminish the contribution of those who have helped carry the programme through previous campaigns.

Clark with Amari Williams, the Boston Celtics star who has committed to the GB programme

“It has been great to see the excitement the fans have had about the programme and the roster we put together in the last window, but we’ve always had great players in these camps on a consistent basis whether it’s Gabe Olaseni, Myles Hesson or others, who are just as important to us as Tosan, Amari, Tobi (Lawall), Quinn or whoever else is committing to the programme.

“Everybody is of equal importance. Everybody has a role to play in British basketball and everybody carries it out to the best of their ability. I’m thrilled that everybody is excited in and out of camp, and heading into the next window it’s on us to deliver performances that live up to that excitement and keep building this momentum.”

That sense of continuity is central to Clark’s vision for the programme. While new faces generate excitement, he believes long-term success is built through players committing to the national team pathway throughout their development.

“There are a lot of things that go into making a successful national team programme, so many pieces that people wouldn’t think of, beyond any funding conversations, but the most important thing for me is commitment of players. That is more important than anything else and the first thing we talk about and thank the players for whenever we get together.”

That commitment, Clark believes, can begin long before players reach the senior team.

“Whether you’re a junior with England, Wales, Scotland or playing in the GB programme at junior level, having that commitment to the programme early and seeing it through is so important. It gave me some of the most special moments of my career and gives significant exposure at a young age that can help players achieve their goals of reaching the levels they want to play at, as our players have proven.

“We see a lot of young players wanting to go off to the US for high school and not staying in the UK to develop, but Amari, Tosan, Amin, Dan Akin, Jubrile (Belo), Akwasi (Yeboah) to name a few are proof that the system here works if you commit to it. They were here until they entered the US college system  and it’s set them up to reach the levels they have in their careers.”

Clark with GB head coach Marc Steutel

For Clark, developing that pathway is only one part of a wider ambition. Ensuring the programme has the resources to support players and staff, while building a stronger commercial foundation, will also be critical to its future.

“It is important that basketball, like all elite sports, receives appropriate and sustained public investment, but equally so that as a sport we find a way to generate our own resource commercially, which helps build the programme and put the best infrastructure in place for everybody involved in the game,” he added.

Ultimately, however, the ambition extends beyond infrastructure and results. Clark wants the national team to become a catalyst for growing fandom around basketball across Great Britain.

“What we hope each window can create are moments that generate real fandom around our sport. We saw it in 2021 when Luke Nelson scored the buzzer-beater against Germany to qualify for EuroBasket the next day, kids all over social media were copying his move. We want more moments like that to show how powerful basketball is.”

Those moments, he believes, can help create a virtuous cycle of success, engagement and growth.

“That comes with winning and we feel we are putting the right things in place to make some noise and build the programme to what we all know and want it can be.”

As the programme develops, Clark also believes that the people shaping its future must understand what it takes to operate within sport at this level.

“It’s really important as we go through a pivotal period for the programme right now, where we’re forming the new direction for British basketball, that the people involved in shaping those decisions have a genuine understanding of the game and the ecosystem around it. That means bringing together people with deep knowledge of basketball and those with broader expertise in high-performance sport and governance, people who can cut through the complexity and chart a path forward that serves the whole game.”

For all the excitement surrounding the current roster, this period also marks the end of an era for one of the programme’s most committed servants.

Gabe Olaseni - a prime example of commitment

Gabe Olaseni recently announced his retirement from the national team after a decade of service, bringing to a close a remarkable international career.

Clark believes Olaseni’s contribution goes far beyond what can be measured statistically.

“There aren’t enough words to define Gabe as a human being nor as a basketball player,” he said. “He’s a prime example of that commitment I was talking about - always available, always wanting to be here, always in the best shape he can be, and always wanting to leave the programme in the best possible place.

“A wonderful team-mate, person and human being, who will be missed, but hopefully in years to come somebody we can tap into a lot more and help build the programme in the future.”

That sentiment perhaps captures the wider ambition best: building a programme that respects the contribution of those who have come before, creates opportunities for those emerging now, and gives future generations something to aspire to.

The next chapter is already underway.

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