Muaz Fawaz set for State League debut on Saturday as Thunderbolts take on Canberra Gunners Academy

In fact, he thought "Pfft, basketball. Who'd want to play that?"

Just a few years later, he ate those words upon falling in love with the sport at 15 years old.

"I was always a sporty kid, I just loved playing," Fawaz said.

"But I guess basketball was my favourite, it just stuck with me the most. I played it once and kept playing, and never stopped."

It was not the most conventional of paths into the sport. But then again, very little of Fawaz's life has been conventional.

The 20-year-old was born in Saudi Arabia, which he said "wasn't really a basketball scene", to Sri Lankan parents. His father, who worked for the Jack's Creek beef production company, eventually relocated the family to Australia in 2012.

They initially lived in the Gold Coast before settling in Tamworth for good in 2016.

"I've been around a little bit," Fawaz said.

This Saturday, he will turn out for the Tamworth Thunderbolts in the first round of the State League season for their clash against the Canberra Gunners Academy.

It will be a special moment for Fawaz, as it marks his State League debut.

"I remember when [the Thunderbolts] played in the 2019 finals, I was just a spectator in the stands," he said.

"Now it's kind of a full-circle moment to be able to play in front of that same home crowd."

He has relished the opportunity to don the Thunderbolts' training jersey and learn from Allante Harper, Tamworth's American import who, like Fawaz, is a small point guard.

"It's been great having Allante around," he said.

"He's played at a really high level, and he's got a wealth of knowledge and experience to give off. He's one of the ones I've been trying to learn off."

Neither of Fawaz's parents are particularly interested in sport, making his inclination towards athletics more remarkable.

In fact, he was the first in his family to "be this invested in anything outside academics".

But that does not mean he is uninterested in further study. On the contrary, while balancing a job as an allied health assistant at Rural Fit, he is also studying a bachelor of psychological science at the University of Wollongong.

Now that he works above the court which will be packed with cheering fans on Saturday, and is still able to pursue his intellectual passion, Fawaz has found the perfect balance in life.

"It's made for a well-rounded perspective, you could say," he said.

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