Tara Murray
New Hume City Broncos import Chris Elder didn’t take long to settle on the Big V championship side as his home for the 2022 season.
Having called Australia home for much of the last four years, the American was on the hunt for a team to play for this season.
“I knew I was coming to Australia in the middle of January,” he said. “I wanted to come back and play in Melbourne.
“I was blessed to have a visa that automatically made me exempt [and able to play]. The Broncos found out and one of their point guards was leaving, so it kind of all came together in a perfect way.
“It was an easy decision. I maybe waited three days to make a decision after listening to and finding out about every other club I was in talks with.
“It was pretty much an easy decision to pick the Broncos.”
Elder said one person who had told him about the Broncos and what to expect was Broncos legend Eddie Cox. He said he had told him great things about Hume for a long time and it was a great place to play.
“I’ve heard no bad things about the Broncos, they take pretty good care of their players, it’s like a family club.”
This will be Elder’s second attempt at playing in Melbourne, after previously signing with the Ringwood Hawks.
That stint was cut short due to visa issues.
“I only got to play a few pre-season matches and ultimately had to leave at the end of May,” he said.
“Out of every state in Australia, Victoria is the most competitive and has the best players overall. That’s no down play to other states.”
Having grown up in Chicago, Elder went to college at Richard J. Daley College and St. Francis, before travelling the world to play basketball.
He spent nearly two years in Darwin through the pandemic. Having played across the world, he said Australia was his favourite place to play.
Elder said others would describe him as an exciting player to watch and play.
“I like to play as hard as I can, I’m very passionate. I’m pretty sure people will see that when I start playing.
“I’m pretty competitive.”
Elder is settling into the Broncos line up. He has been training with the side for more than a month and had played in a couple of practice games, the first of those he went straight from the airport to the court.
“I’ve been here four weeks,” he said.
“I’m getting a good feel from the guys. I knew about four players already.
“Jake Martin is also from Chicago, so we share that mutual thing from home. The connection has been good, we know that it takes time.
“We believe we have a really good team that can compete and win, but you still have to make it happen, nothing is guaranteed.”
The Broncos will start their season on March 20 against Wyndham at Eagle Stadium.
