Luke’s tall call

By Russell Bennett
TECOMA’S Luke Hannon says his favourite basketball player is Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose.
It’s hardly surprising; given they both play the same position and are roughly the same height – around 188cm. But Luke is still just 14 years old.
Luke’s younger brother is also a basketballer and is more than 183cm tall as well. He’s only 12.
Then there’s Luke’s big brother who is 195cm – but he is 17, he’s had much more time to grow.
The boys’ parents are hardly vertically challenged either – mum, Cathy, is 180cm and dad, Greg, is also well over 183cm.
But it takes much more than height to make a good basketballer.
“Luke has a great work ethic and is a great team player,” Mrs Hannon said.
“He’s a good leader and his team-mates respect him for it.”
Luke was earlier this month selected to compete in the Vic Metro under-16 team at the Australian Junior Championships in Kilsyth in July.
His selection is another step on the road to reaching his basketball dream, playing in the bright lights of America’s NBA.
Luke started his basketball journey as a Prep. He may only be 14 but he has played the sport for nine years.
“I play footy too but basketball is a great team game and I’ve got some good mates in the side.”
The tryout process for the Vic Metro side was long and arduous but Luke was prepared to do the hard work required.
“The tryouts went for five weeks, every Saturday and Sunday,” Luke said.
“There were high expectations every day – everything was played at a really high intensity.”
Some of the training and tryouts were at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, others at Darebin.
Mr and Mrs Hannon drive Luke wherever he needs to go.
Mrs Hannon said Luke devoted most of his time to the game he loved.
“And we, as his parents, are more than happy to support him as much as possible,” she said.
Luke described his biggest strengths as his ability to run plays, and organising his team-mates as a collective unit.
Mrs Hannon said it took skill to be a good basketballer, but a high work ethic to be a very good one.
“Luke has a great work ethic and is a great team player,” she said.
“He’s a good leader and his team-mates respect him for it.”
She said she wasn’t sure how long Luke would pursue his basketball dream but “he’s keen to go as long as humanly possible.
“As long as he enjoys it like he does now, he’ll just keep going.”
The Vic Metro men’s team has an impressive track record at the under-16 National Championships, winning 10 titles over the past 14 years and 32 out of the 53 since the championships begun in 1955. Current head coach Ross Clark said his team was “fully aware of the proud history of Vic Metro Basketball and (looks) forward to continuing this tradition”.