McConnell, 47, makes winning debut for Scotland after 'prank call' as Love fosters ‘monster’ mentality

McConnell thought someone was having a joke at his expense when he was approached about playing at Glasgow 2026.

He was winding down his playing career and more focused on coaching and development at his local club, North East Warriors in Newcastle.

McConnell (pictured above right) joined two 20-year-olds, Finlay Erskine and Shayne Humphries, plus Tyler Baines, 24, as Scotland’s Men marked their Commonwealth Games debut by beating South Africa 15-9 at The SEC Centre.

“I never thought I'd be here – I thought I'd missed the boat by about 20 years,” McConnell said.

“I've played basketball for 30 years, up and down the leagues, just doing it for fun.

“Then all of a sudden I got a call, which I thought was a prank call, but it was legit. I came up, did some training camps and the next thing I know I got a call from Mark (Stevenson), our team manager, saying I'd made the team.

“I'm absolutely honoured and delighted to be here representing Scotland. It was fantastic. We were very nervous, we could hear the crowd in the tunnel, but as soon as you go out and see the people everywhere, the nerves go and the adrenaline starts pumping.

"We've got a lot of firepower and we want to bring a medal home.”

‘Locked-in monster’ mentality

Hall 4's partisan home support helped fuel Love’s journey to leading Scotland Women's 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball team to an opening win over Nigeria.

“The first time I attended a Commonwealth Games was Glasgow 2014 and you definitely felt the energy there – I was so jealous,” said Love, who had at that point recently taken up Wheelchair Basketball.

“I remember watching the Wheelchair Tennis where my mate Gordon Reid (SCO) was competing and I thought, ‘Oh, this is for me’. Lo and behold, 12 years later, here we are in Glasgow again.

"The crowd were electric, to say the least, and made it such a special experience.”

Now 35, Love is a three-time Paralympian and led Scotland to fourth place at Birmingham 2022. She has also taken on responsibility for coaching the team, including Great Britain team-mates Jodie Waite and Kayli English, plus 17-year-old Lea Smith.

“She is amazing, a great mentor,” Smith said of Love. “She has really good ideas, is a very positive person and has always got everyone’s backs, so we try to do the same for her. I have learned so much from her coming into this.”

Love said: “They make it easy, it's an absolute pleasure.

"It's a new team and we talk a lot about a ‘locked-in monster’ mentality. We're just building that and if it ends up with us on the podium, then great.”

Saturday’s 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball matches also featured maiden wins for Wales Women and Men on their respective Commonwealth Games debuts.

While the the former enjoyed a comfortable 16-1 win over India, the latter needed a late basket from Dan May to pip Malaysia 14-13 in their nailbiting opener.

England Men enjoy 100% start but Women upset

In the 3x3 Basketball, defending Men's champions England overcame Jamaica 22-16 in a tough opening assignment before beating Fiji and Kenya to top Pool B with three wins out of three and match Australia’s feat in Pool A on the opening day.

“The goal is to make it to the gold-medal game, and if we keep improving game by game, we're going to be a tough team to beat,” England's Ashley Hamilton said.

England’s Women, seeking to turn silver from Birmingham 2022 into gold at Glasgow 2026, also made a strong start with wins over Singapore and Scotland but were overturned 21-12 in the final game of the day by New Zealand, who top Pool B after a third win out of three.