Tara Murray
A Woodend teenager is making his mark on the basketball court and football field.
Cooper Duff-Tytler recently captained Vic Country at the under-16 Australian Junior Basketball Championships, where the side finished sixth.
He will soon be part of the Victorian team for the School Sports Victoria football team that will play at the national championships.
For Duff-Tytler, he loves both sports.
“I’ve played a lot of football and basketball,” he said.
“At the moment I want to focus on basketball after coming back from Perth. I want to get drafted and play in the NBA.”
For Duff-Tytler being part of the Vic Country basketball team wasn’t even on the radar earlier this year.
“I wasn’t even in the state program at the start of the year,” he said. “I was just shocked to get picked.
“I worked a lot harder and I enjoyed my basketball and had fun with it.”
Duff-Tytler made an instant impact in the state program, not only getting picked for the final squad, but named captain.
The side didn’t have the championships they were after, finishing in sixth spot.
“It was pretty exciting to play against the best players from around the country, it’s a lot higher than I had even played before,” he said.
“We were aiming for the gold medal, but lost a game which meant we were out of the medals.
“We then wanted to finish fifth, but we lost by two points in over time.”
The Sunbury Jets under-16 player averaged 12 points and six and half rebounds per game.
Duff-Tytler said he thought his basketball had stepped up, while he learned a number of areas that he had to improve on.
While Duff-Tylter excelled on the national stage, he wasn’t the only Macedon Ranges resident with a connection to the Vic Country basketball team.
Gisborne’s Sonny Maxwell was named as one of the emergencies for the team.
Duff-Tytler said it was good to have one of his friends to share the journey with.
Maxwell said he didn’t get as close to making the team as he did.
“It felt pretty good,” he said. “Especially as a bottom-age player, I was shocked to get that.
“I was really surprised by even the training before they decided the team.”
Maxwell said he enjoyed making new friends as well and getting the chance to play more basketball.
He said getting so close was motivation to make the team next year.
