Bucc Liam Hunt’s journey to Germany has been inspiring and his dad Dan has been behind him the whole way

Liam Hunt went from thinking he would lose his leg to helping the Geraldton Buccaneers win a championship and now he’s flying to Germany to fulfil a contract from three years ago. Hunt had signed a contract to play basketball in Germany for Baskets Vilsbiburg in 2020, but everything came to an abrupt stop when he tore three major ligaments and shredded the main nerve in his knee. Instead of celebrating Father’s Day with his dad and Buccaneer legend Dan, Liam Hunt is off chasing a European dream he didn’t think was possible. “It started years ago, this team followed him through his college, and they’d actually signed him right before his injury,” Dan Hunt said. “So he signed the contract and he was off in September, and then of course he had that terrible injury, and that all went pear shaped.” The road the recovery has been long, with Dan Hunt saying he was worried if his son would be able to walk again. “I remember at one stage we were looking to get handheld equipment for his steering wheel because we didn’t think he’d be able to drive again,” he said. “There was a chance he’d lose his leg, chance that he would never walk properly . . . when they put his leg back in, they were worries about his temporal arteries bursting.” After Liam Hunt was unable to travel to Germany, the European club still kept in constant contact with him, checking how his recovery was going. Walking wasn’t enough for the big centre and heart and soul of the Buccs team — he wanted to get back to playing competitive ball. “To even want to come back, I just don’t understand that drive, once he could walk, you would think that’s enough,” Dan Hunt said. “When he said, I’m thinking about playing again, Helen and I were like why? What are you doing? It was just crazy. “Every time we watch him, we are still cringing . . . watching that first game was just the worst thing ever.” His father said it was unbelievable the support Vilsbiburg had for him, and they wanted him when he first came back to playing last year. “They called him 12 months ago, and said they saw him playing and asked ‘are you ready to come play for us?’,” Dan Hunt said. Liam Hunt played supporting minutes in his return season, and was a part of the team that went to the 2022 grand final, but he wasn’t satisfied with how he was playing. “Liam said, I’m out of shape, I’m terrible, I couldn’t help you . . . after the season ended, he said ‘Dad I think I will give it one more crack to really get fit and try to contribute’.” Jump forward a year and Liam Hunt played a pivotal role in the Buccs NBL1 West winning team, and his dad was behind him the whole way. Now he has already left for Germany to fulfil the promise he made to Vilsbiburg three years ago, and his father couldn’t be more proud. “So proud of him to get back to that situation, but as a parent, it was just horrible,” Dan Hunt said. “Just super proud and super happy, and I can’t wait to go and watch him play over there.” Liam Hunt plans to be back home to possibly play in the 2024 NBL1 West season.