Little Hamilton Heights Christian Academy will be entertaining people from all over the world this morning. In return, those people will be doing a little entertaining, too.
The boys’ varsity basketball team at the school with a grades 9-12 enrollment of fewer than 80 features three players who are natives of countries other than the United States. Adding to the international flavor, the Hawks are hosting the Australian Christian School Tourists today at 11.
Matt Tucker is in his fifth year coaching the Australian travel team, which has 10 players and two other coaches. He said every two years the club plans a playing tour in the U.S.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the boys,” Tucker said. “It’s a chance to experience what life is like in another country, and it’s an opportunity they may not otherwise get. A couple of the boys are in college over here already as a result of the program.”
North Carolina and Tennessee have become popular destinations for the Australians, but this is their first time playing a school in Chattanooga.
“They’ve been coming over here for three or four years, and a friend of mine in Knoxville suggested that we should try to get a game with them,” said Hamilton Heights headmaster Duke Stone, referring to former Berean Christian School coach Paul Vandermark. “We didn’t have room on our schedule in times past. This year we had a couple of openings and put them down.”
Hamilton Heights’ three foreign-born players — all seniors — are the Hawks’ top scorers. Brazil is home for point guard Pedro Faller, who averages 16.3 points and 5.7 assists per game, and power forward Bruno Santana, who averages 12.8 points and 9.5 rebounds. Guard George Koguashvili, who averages 16 points per game, is from the Republic of Georgia.
Among the featured players for the Australian team are 16-year-old Jarrod Gamble, a 6-foot-8 forward/center from Queensland, and 17-year-old Adam Maschotta, a 6-foot guard from South Australia. Gamble has been averaging around 15 points per game during the trip. Maschotta, whom Tucker calls a “defensive specialist,” is averaging around six assists.
The Tourists were 5-1 heading into their game Friday. They were coming off beating Covenant College’s junior varsity 65-59 on Thursday.
“I’ve been told by my contact in Knoxville they’ll be pretty good,” Stone said.
The Australian team arrived in Los Angeles on Dec. 27. Tucker said with athletes from all parts of his country, it was there that they first had the chance to learn much about each other.
Disneyland and Universal Studios were among the attractions the Australians visited in Southern California. They’ve been to some NBA games and also went to the Wake Forest-North Carolina State men’s game at Raleigh.
The Australians have one U.S. game remaining Monday in South Carolina, and then they’ll leave Wednesday for home. Before that, though, they’re planning to work in one more NBA game tonight when they travel to Atlanta for the Hawks’ game against the Houston Rockets.
“Everything is a highlight,” Tucker said. “We take them shopping. We take them to local restaurants. They get to stay with families while they’re here and get to see what life is like in the U.S.
“Some will say basketball is just an excuse to come over here. More than the basketball is the fellowship.”