Broome basketball prodigy Christopher Hunter makes splash on national stage while competing in tournament

Broome basketball prodigy Christopher Hunter has made a splash on the national stage, representing WA against the other States in the Basketball Australia U16 Men’s National Championships. Held at Warwick Stadium in Perth this year, the national championships pit the country’s most talented young basketballers against one another. Making it on to the U16 Country Men’s team was no easy feat, with Hunter having to compete against other hopefuls in a gruelling selection process for one of the 10 coveted spots on the team. Hunter said playing basketball for WA was a dream come true and he hoped his achievement would inspire other Kimberley youth to pursue their aspirations. “When I was young I didn’t have the opportunity to play Aussie hoops,” he said. “I know achieving this could help inspire other young Kimberley kids to believe in themselves and chase their goals and dreams like I have — I want to do that. “I will keep pushing myself to strive to achieve more and represent WA at the national level.” Basketball WA Kimberley regional development manager Liz Muenchow said Hunter had shown a great desire to improve and compete for WA. “Once he realised that representing WA did not just have to be a dream but in fact something that he actually could achieve if he put in the work and believed in himself, there was no stopping him,” she said. “During the past four years I have watched him grow from a shy basketball-loving kid into a strong, confident, well-respected emerging young leader. “Without a doubt, his selection will inspire many Kimberley kids to have the confidence to take their love of basketball to the next level and also chase their dreams, so the impact of Christopher’s selection has the potential to be huge across the region.” Hunter has been a part of Basketball WA Kimberley’s High Performance Development Program since its inception four years ago. Three participants from the program have gone on to represent WA in basketball.