![Chris Pearson is a relative newcomer to basketball, but his love of the sport is almost unmatched. Picture by Zac Lowe. Chris Pearson is a relative newcomer to basketball, but his love of the sport is almost unmatched. Picture by Zac Lowe.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/f516f865-8025-4a3c-bcdf-00c740367d31.jpg/r735_197_3620_2132_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It's hard to find anybody more passionate about basketball than Chris Pearson.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
In fact, when contacted for this article, Pearson replied almost immediately by saying "I'm always happy to talk about the Thunderbolts".
Given his ardour for the game, and learning about its intricacies, it's surprising that he only began playing seriously a few years ago.
"I didn't start at a young age," Pearson said.
"I really only started playing representative basketball when I was in Year 9 or 10. So I'm a relatively late starter."
Standing at roughly six and a half feet tall, and with a powerful build more akin to a rugby union second-rower than a basketball player, Pearson has often been asked throughout his life if he plays footy.
But while the 19-year-old dabbled in a handful of sports before he took up basketball, none of them ever inspired the same level of passion.
And now, as a member of the Tamworth Thunderbolts' state league team, he has grabbed the opportunity to study under captain Scott McGann with both hands.
"As well as being so talented on the court, Scott's basketball mind is unlike anything I've ever seen from a player," Pearson said.
"He's played at a high level, and the fact that he's willing to coach me and imprint some of that knowledge onto me is great. I'm really learning heaps from him."
After two losses in their first two games, the Thunderbolts rebounded last week with a win over the Camden Valley Wildfire.
This Saturday, they take on the Port Macquarie Dolphins at the Tamworth Sports Dome.
While Pearson said the Dolphins are "always very strong", he said the home crowds over the last two seasons have given the Tamworth players an undeniable boost.
"[Their support is] in a word: great. I can't overestimate the power the crowd holds in terms of games," he said.
"Last season we started very similarly to this season, with a couple of close losses, and the crowd never wavered, not even for a second.
"After seeing their team come second, they came back stronger and possibly louder."
It remains a mind-boggling spectacle to Pearson who, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, was entering his final years of high school at McCarthy Catholic College and had "no idea" what he wanted to do when he graduated.
Could the Tamworth native ever have guessed that, at the outset of 2023, he'd be into the second year of a locksmithing apprenticeship with North West Locksmiths and a regular fixture in the Thunderbolts' senior side?
"Definitely not," Pearson said.
"I wanted to try, and I knew it wasn't going to be easy, no matter how big and tall I was.
"But I figured if I can work hard enough, and I can say that I've given it my all, I can't be upset if I don't get in."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News