John Carroll makes retirement U-turn after US plans put on backburner
Ireland Men's The Eback: During Moran/sportsfile Fiba Eurobasket Brendan Against Of Photo 2025 John Croatia Qualifier By Carroll
By the time John Carroll officially announced his retirement from international basketball in late February, aged just 28, he’d already been done with the sport for six months - he just hadn’t made it public.
Then circumstances changed. The full stop on his career became a semi-colon. Last month, the 6’ 7” forward played games for Ireland against Guatemala and Armenia in Los Angeles. He is in the squad for the August Bank Holiday weekend’s games against Denmark.
When he made the announcement in February, Carroll was ready to move to the US. He's still in Ireland.
“A few life changes,” Carroll explained about what led to the retirement U-turn and his American plans being shelved.
His decision to retire had been two-pronged. In the summer of 2022, he’d suffered a knee injury which kept him out for nine months. He made his comeback in the FIBA Eurobasket 2025 qualifiers against Croatia and Luxembourg but didn’t feel up to the pace.
“I think I came back a little too fast,” Carroll said.
“I wasn't going well so I was like 'I think that's it for me'.
“I had the injury before. You could be back but mentally you're not back. Then we played Croatia, probably the best team I've ever played, and I just wasn't at the pace. I was the captain at the time and it was just added pressure, thinking about other stuff.
"I was slow. I was just slow. I felt stable but like I was stuck in mud.”
Carroll's thoughts started dribbling towards a comeback in April. By May, his mind was made up to take the shot.
“I figured if I was going to be around, I might as well keep playing,” he said.
“I was feeling good, my knee was feeling good. The year off helped and doing rehab, a lot of strength work. I played 3x3 and it went well. I played 5x5 in the Los Angeles trip and it went very well.
“I didn't realise how much I missed it, hanging out with the lads, playing in a tight game. We played Armenia and lost by one but it was a great game with a huge crowd. Everyone was happy. Everyone said, 'You should never have stopped playing'. It was 100% approval rating."
After graduating from the University of Hartford, where he played NCAA Division 1 ball, Carroll joined Czech side Ostrava. He has also lined out for Marin, Zamora and Albacete in Spain.
In mid-July, the Dubliner signed with EJ Sligo All-Stars. The upcoming season will be the first time he’s played in the Super League.
“They were the first people to approach me,” said Carroll, already a member of County Sligo Golf Club.
“They've been trying to get me to play for them for a while. I just like the group there, good coaches and the front office guys, the players. I just wanted to do something different and I thought that would be the best team for me. I really like Sligo. I'm going to be living out in Rosses Point. I wanted to get out of Dublin.
“I'm heading up there at the end of next month, more than likely. We have a really good team. Sean Briggs is coming back. I think Tom Child, the British point guard, some good Irish guys."
For the past 18 months, Carroll has worked for FanDuel, the American arm of Flutter Entertainment which also owns Betfair and Paddy Power.
“I was very tempted just to play fully again and go overseas,” said Carroll, who works as an NBA trader.
“I wouldn't say it's a stepping stone but it definitely will be a trial period and to see if I'm able to play basketball and work a full-time job at the same time. It's not going to be easy. Super League is a high level, you can't just rock up on the weekend and think you're going to win games. I know that's not the case.”