Jimmy Mitchell
Luke Champion is homeschooled. But he is not sitting at home eating potato chips all day, contrary to some of the jokes that fly around the Vestavia Hills High School basketball locker room.
Champion has a full load of classes and has to make time for homework around playing basketball, just like his athletic counterparts. He balances school, sports and social aspects of his life, just like his teammates. When he does not make enough time to study, his grades suffer, exactly like the guys who wear the same uniform he does.
Champion is one of the first student-athletes to benefit from the new AHSAA guideline, allowing homeschooled students to participate in sports at the school they are zoned for.
“Me and my mom kept up with [the rule proposal] for six months, so when they passed it, it was a joy,” he said.
Champion joined the Rebels during the summer, and head coach Patrick Davis was immediately impressed.
“OK, I think he can help us,” Davis recalls of the first time he saw Champion on the court.
Fortunately for Champion, he was not walking into a completely unfamiliar situation. He went to school with most of the guys on the team through their days at Pizitz Middle School, and he played with a handful of them in elementary and middle school.
“I can see in other situations the chemistry being a little off,” Davis said. “Our situation is very much the other way.”
Champion did not know what to expect as far as playing time, but quickly got his chance early on, as an injury allowed him to step into a big role, one he has grasped by the horns.
“After our first game … we put Champ in that spot. His first start, I think he led us in scoring,” Davis said.
Adjusting to the high school varsity basketball at a Class 7A program has been a bit of an adjustment for the junior, who played basketball at Evangel Christian School last year after spending a year away from organized competition as a ninth-grader.
Champion admitted he was not prepared for the amount of training and preparation this level would require, but he has adjusted and is showing improvement every day.
“He does a lot of things well,” Davis said. “His ceiling is really, really high, just from gaining experience. Not just every game, but every practice, being in that [environment] daily.”
Champion usually draws the assignment of guarding the opposition’s top perimeter player, and supplements that with a well-rounded offensive game.
“He drives it well, shoots it well, finishes well,” Davis said. “He doesn’t have a glaring flaw in his game.”
While the reserved and unassuming guard would not be mistaken for an extremely vocal leader, his burning desire to win has been on display since he joined the team.
“Kids either have that or they don’t,” Davis said. And he’s got that. That’s probably his biggest plus, is just how competitive he is.”
