BASKETBALL: The Superleague swings back into gear next week with Shamrock Rovers squaring up to Killester in the National Arena on Friday night but the Hoops have undergone a major shake up in the off-season as their inspirational player-coach Anthony Jenkins has decided not to return from America.

Considering the effect Jenkins had on the club, the loss is massive. He led Rovers, then named Notre Dame, to four successive senior cups (1997 to 2000) while also picking up a string of awards as coach. As well as being a highly-regarded figure, Jenkins was a popular MC at national schools' finals.

He is replaced as head coach by the equally proficient Ken Black who had a bright spell with Neptune in the late 1980s.

Another significant change this year sees Ballina join the top tier of Irish basketball after an absence of six years. Last season's run to the cup finals weekend showed Liam McHale and Co should be able to compete sufficiently. Ronan McGarrity, who played in midfield for Mayo in the recent All-Ireland final defeat to Kerry, will play a significant role in his preferred sport.

McGarrity has played college basketball and only came to the notice of Mayo manager John Maughan this year, thanks to the influence of team selector McHale, in what was a rapid climb to the highest levels of football that ultimately ended in failure last Sunday.

They play Waterford in their opening match tomorrow week. Elsewhere, next Saturday UCD and the Mardyke UCC Demons square off on the Belfield campus, Cork's Neptune host Limerick, Star of the Sea play the Hoops in Jordanstown and St Vincent's travel to Tralee to face the Tigers.

On Sunday, St Vincent's then hop over to Killarney for an afternoon fixture against the Lakers, while Limerick play their second game against Waterford in the UL Arena.

The north-south conference system introduced last year will continue but all teams will play each other in cross-conference matches like this weekend.