How Gibson went from missing state squad to US college dream in four years

Late last month, the 19-year-old committed to Colorado's Fort Lewis College, an NCAA division two school - something he's wanted to do since he was young.

However, it did not come easy, missing an under-16 Tasmanian squad entirely several years ago, which proved pivotal in his development.

"COVID hit around that time and then during that period, I locked in and started to get fitter - I actually started training properly and got a lot better," he said.

"A couple of years back, I didn't think I was up to that level of going over there and being able to play college basketball but then I played at nationals and had people get in my ear and say 'I think you're good enough'."

The 203-centimetre forward then got in touch with Basketball Australia Pathways, who began sending highlight reels and generating interest.

With no official offers on the table, Gibson earned a spot on an AUSA Hoops tour, similar to close mate Lachy Brewer last year, making his case in person.

"That generated even more interest but I still couldn't really get too many offers on the board," he said.

"From there, it was a waiting game. I'd get really close with some schools and then they'd pull out and offer someone else and eventually, luckily enough, I was able to pick one up from Fort Lewis only a few days ago."

So what attracted the former Launceston College student to a place more than 13,500 kilometres away?

"They've been a really successful basketball program throughout their history," he said.

"They've won a lot of championships in their conference, had some really good national tournament runs and they've just got a really strong program.

"The location of the school is really nice up in the mountains, it's really picturesque out there - it'll be pretty cold like Tassie, which is a nice thing as well."

Gibson comes from impressive basketball heritage, with his mother Mandy a member of the Launceston Tornadoes' 1995 Continental Basketball Association premiership-winning team.

His father Craig is the president of the Launceston Basketball Association, while his siblings Logan and Cassidy also play.

"As I was growing up, Mum tried not to force me into it too hard, which was good," he said.

"I played a lot of other sports, I wasn't a superstar athlete as a young kid but I ended up deciding basketball was the one I liked and it probably helped that I was tall so I was slightly better at it than the others.

"Being able to train with Logan every day, he's turned into quite a player himself, so that's really good and having Mum coach and guide me through a lot of stuff has been a huge, huge help to my journey."

The City of Launceston Basketball Club player was picked in his first state team in April 2022, winning a bronze medal before playing in several more and finishing his junior career with an under-20s bronze earlier this year.

He has also spent time with Devonport in the NWBU, coming runner-up in the Warriors' best and fairest.

Across the last few seasons, Gibson has worked on his jump shot, something he said has made him more valuable to schools that showed interest.

"Becoming quite a good three-point shooter has been key because being able to do that as one of the bigger guys on the court is really important in today's basketball landscape," he said.

"I like to stretch the floor and shoot threes but I also pride myself on being a pretty good passer for my position and being able to guard multiple positions on the defensive end and just be really versatile and fit into wherever a team needs me."

Gibson will leave for the US in August.