Durham, who hails from Tennessee in the US, has been playing basketball since he was eight years old and is excited to be joining the Lithgow team. 

Durham came on a basketball tour to Lithgow in August 2017 for a week and fell in love with the town and its people. 

Durham had previously received offers from European teams wanting to sign him and had signed to a team in China before the tour but it fell through. 

“Everything happens for a reason, and now I get to play with this great team,” he said. 

As well as playing for the Lithgow Lazers, Durham will be coaching the under 14s boys representative team. 

“I just want the kids to be happy, have fun, work hard and to learn as much as they can,” he said. 

Durham said he wants to show them that he was once their age and their basketball dreams can come true if they want it bad enough.  

After arriving in Lithgow on Saturday, February 10 Durham met the kids he would be coaching.  

“This is just such a neat town and a nice place, I decided to come back here because I fitted in and loved the people and the personality of the town,” Durham said. 

Durham first realised that he could make basketball a career when he was in middle school and ever since has been pushing to make that a reality. 

The first pre-season run that Durham had with the team was on Sunday, February 11 at a trial match between the Lithgow Lazers and St George. 

Despite losing the match Durham was a loud supporter of the team when he was on the sidelines, and got the crowd pumped by jumping up and down when the Lazers scored. 

“Yeah! Well done boys!” he said. 

He also showed the crowd what a tough player he was, not afraid to get physical against the opposition. 

The crowd was also on his side, getting the loudest cheers when he scored. 

The Lithgow Lazers lost their trial match going down 102-52 to St George at full time. 

“I’m not worried too much, this was our first match together and we were down one of our star players,” Lithgow Lazers coach Richard Marjoram said. 

Marjoram said that the team has to work on their defence and that it’s teams that win games not individuals. 

“This game was good because we could run some of the players that are normally on the bench, and if certain players don’t put in the effort or contribute to the team then they can sit on the side until they learn,” he said. 

With many players only coming back from holidays on Saturday, February 10 they haven’t been able to train as a team which was one of their downfalls. 

“All credit to St George, they are a really athletic team, and this loss will just make us work harder,” Marjoram said. 

Despite the loss Durham said he has a few goals he would like to achieve while playing at the Lazer’s. 

“I would like to win a championship as a coach and as a team player,” he said. 

Durham said that he just wanted to be a part of something and to ultimately have fun. 

“I just love the game,” he said. 

Lithgow Lazers’ coach Richard Marjoram said he was happy to have Durham on board at the Lithgow Lazers. 

“I look forward to gaining knowledge that he will bring to the team because the way they play and train in America is different to here,” he said. 

Marjoram is also excited to be able to utilise Durham not just for his playing skills but also as a coach for the younger squad. 

“I just hope he stays injury free,” Marjoram said. 

Durham will now join the pre season training.