Ipswich Basketball Club have pulled off a major double signing ahead of the 2019/2020 season, bringing back two of the best players to ever come out of the Suffolk based programme.
Luke Mascall-Wright and Jake Eynon both return to the club after stints playing College Basketball across the Atlantic in the States, and professionally in Europe as well as both having played in NBL Division One with Essex Leopards and Solent Kestrels.
Luke Mascall-Wright
Luke Mascall-Wright has had as productive of a career as any player to come out of the nationally respected Ipswich Basketball programme. He captained Ipswich to a National Championship as an u13 back in 2009, and went on to be a standout player throughout the junior ranks, leading the club to multiple junior Final Fours. As part of the Copleston High School based Ipswich Basketball Academy or ‘IBA’, Luke led the EABL in scoring, and was twice named to the All EABL First Team, he also represented the Great Britain U20 Men at the Division A European Championships in 2014. Mascall-Wright was a major contributor on the Ipswich Senior Men’s team from 2011, and he played a starring role, despite his young age, in the clubs rapid rise through the National League divisions from 2011 to 2017.
Luke’s phenomenal play led to him being recruited to play a year at Junior College at NIACC, before returning to England for another season with Ipswich in NBL Division Two, where he led the team in scoring at over twenty points per game. His stella play then prompted a number of professional offers that saw Luke play two stints in Italy over the past two seasons as well as a brief spell in NBL Division One with Essex Leopards.
“It’s great to be back in Ipswich. This is where it all started for me and I hope that I can bring some of the experiences I have had, playing in the professional game back to the club and help the team and the young guys develop. It’s going to be strange to be one of the older heads on the team, but I’m looking forward to it” Said the 24 Year Old.
“Luke is one of the best and most exciting players we have seen here in Ipswich, but more importantly than that, he knows what it takes to compete and perform at a high level and we think he presence will have a huge impact across the whole club” added Head Coach Adam Robinson.
Jake Eynon
Jake Eynon bring some serious credentials to the Ipswich team. Having been a junior player for the club, and then one of the first academy players to go through the Ipswich system, the 6’0 guard will be one of the unquestionable leaders of the team.
Eynon led Copleston to back-to-back EABL Final Fours (In the days before it was called the EABL), and went on to play for several years in America. Jake attended Jacksonville Junior College, before being recruited to play NCAA Division Two Basketball with Texas A&M International, enjoying a four year college career. Following Jakes graduation, he spent time playing professionally both domestically with eventual NBL Division One champions Solent Kestrels and in Italy with Melfas Gela.
Jake was the starting point guard on the Ipswich Men’s team that jumped from NBL Division Four to Division Two in their first two seasons in the senior national league.
“It’s great to be back playing for Ipswich. The club and academy have both grown so much while I’ve been away, which is great to see. I’m looking forward to helping the team move forward and hopefully I can help some of the younger guys develop along the way” Said Eynon.
“Jake is a next level guard, so we are very lucky to have a player of his calibre on the team. Nothing changes from our standpoint – we want to develop these young guys, win and have some fun along the way. Jake and Luke will be a very entertaining pair for the crowd to watch play” Added Robinson
Ipswich continue to prepare for the season with a number of upcoming friendlies in the coming weeks. The season officially starts on Saturday the 5th October when the clubs two senior teams open the season with a double header. The women host Southwark Pride at 3pm, followed by the Men against Solent Kestrels at 5:30pm.
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