Gisborne basketballer Josh Grabham makes epic return to top after serious illness
AT JUST 17, Sunbury basketballer Josh Grabham has already made one of the gutsiest of all sporting comebacks.
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AT JUST 17, Josh Grabham has already made one of the gutsiest of all sporting comebacks.
The 193cm-tall Sunbury Jets player was selected in the All-Australian team after dominating for Victoria at the 18-years-and-under national basketball championships.
Josh also represented Victoria in underage basketball when he was in Grade 6, but at age 13, was floored by the news he had a non-cancerous tumour.
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“I’d broken my hand and it hadn’t healed very well, and the next thing I knew I was having tests and I had this tumour on my adrenal gland, just above my hip,” Josh said.
More than a year of volatile cortisone treatment played havoc with his energy levels and prevented the Gisborne Secondary College student from playing sport.
He also lost a lot of weight and conditioning during the setback, and it took him three years to get back to full fitness.
So, unsurprisingly, Josh was elated by his return last month to the top level of junior sports and performances at the national championships, which helped his team to third place.
Josh traded his normal position as a point guard for a role as a forward at the nationals, due to a scarcity of height in the team.
It was not only a good tournament for him in a less familiar role, but also a landmark in his young career.
“It was all pretty crazy, but I’ve grown up quick and appreciate playing again,” Josh said.
Josh is now eyeing a career in US College basketball, and hopes to follow in the tracks of Australian NBA players such as Matthew Dellavedova and Patrick Mills.
His break may come as soon as November, when he travels to the US to play with the touring All-Australian team.
“We are playing in a tournament and playing other games in Texas, Washington and Los Angeles, and hopefully I can attract some interest from a college team,” Josh said.
■ Josh is a Sunbury/Macedon Ranges Leader junior sports star nominees. Click here to nominate a sports star, presented by Sportsmart.
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