Orla O’Reilly — senior guard, women’s basketball
Hometown: Cork, Ireland
Aaron Gottlieb: When did you first start playing basketball?
Orla O’Reilly: I started first when I was 10 — my mom brought us out and I remember our first practice was outside on a tarmac court. It was fun.
AG: Why basketball? Is it big where you come from in Ireland?
OO: It’s not big in Ireland at all, actually. It’s pretty small, especially when I started … But I come from a basketball family — all five of us play basketball and four of us played on an international team growing up.
AG: What’s your hometown like?
OO: It’s nice, it’s small. I live in the city, but it’s about the same size as Binghamton. So I’m not in the countryside like everyone thinks Ireland is. I like it — it’s a nice, little, small town.
AG: How did you hear about Binghamton, let alone come here?
OO: I think a coach from Ireland got in contact with the previous coach here and coach [Nicole] Scholl just kept talking to me and kept recruiting me and we got on the phone one day, and I liked the college and she wanted to recruit both myself and [my sister] Sinead and we both decided to come.
AG: Were you looking into any other options for college?
OO: Yeah, we were talking to a couple others, but this seemed like the right place. We were interested in going to the east coast so we’d be somewhat closer to home and in a similar environment.
AG: Now that you mention it, what’s your relationship with Sinead like? Did you intend on coming to college here and playing together, or was it just kind of a coincidence?
OO: Yeah, we had decided beforehand that we were going to go together and it makes it a lot easier to come to a new place with a family member there.
AG: So if you guys would compare yourselves to one other sibling duo that plays the same sport, who would it be?
OO: Hmm … that’s a good question … I’m not sure. I’ve never been asked that before …. What other siblings play the same sport?
AG: Eli and Peyton Manning, Brook and Robin Lopez …
OO: Oh, yeah! We can be the Manning brothers!
AG: Now that you’re a senior, what’s been your favorite part of the whole Binghamton experience that’s not basketball-related?
OO: I really love going to school here — I love all the people here. I’ve made some great friends and met some great people within the athletic department as well. I think that was the main part for me. I enjoyed the education too, but I wasn’t really focused that much on the education to begin with — when I came here I wanted to focus on basketball — but I think that really surprised me to gain such an interest in education too.
AG: Pretend I’m coach Scholl. What’s one thing you can do to get under my skin and piss me off?
OO: Hmm … not listen. She hates that.
AG: What’s something you can do to get on my good side?
OO: Shoot the ball well.
AG: If you had a 100 percent guarantee to make a game-winning shot, where would it be from on the court?
OO: I think a three-pointer on the wing.
AG: Any preference on which wing?
OO: Either one.
This interview has been edited for clarity.