Bulla Basketball Memories: Mason Peatling

Thanks to Bulla Family Dairy we are taking a look back at some of our players’ and coaches’ early days of basketball.

Mason Peatling has returned to where it all began for him – Victoria. Thanks to Bulla Family Dairy, Melbourne United Media caught up with him to conjure up memories of a distinguished junior basketball career that set him on the path to the NBL.

The 23-year-old signed with Melbourne United back in July, after playing college basketball for Eastern Washington for five years.

But before he reached those heights, Peatling was hard at work as a junior and has plenty of fond memories playing with his Beaconhills College school mates.

Mason Peatling playing for the Dandenong Rangers against now teammate Jack White.

“I played my first couple of years of junior basketball out at the Casey Basketball Stadium,” he told Melbourne United Media.

“Playing with school mates, that’s what really got me into basketball.

“I was probably more into footy (while at school), but I found basketball to be such a great sport as well so at a younger age I delved into the two.

“I chose basketball at age 11. That’s when I figured out that I loved basketball more (than footy). I enjoyed that I could be more involved during the game.

“So, I started taking basketball a lot more seriously.”

Mason Peatling (Dandenong Rangers) in a jump ball.

After years of hard work, Peatling was finally selected to represent Victoria Metro at the Under-20 Junior Basketball Championships and he said it was a combination of hard work and a slice of luck which saw him get his long-awaited chance.

“It was something that I had worked towards for a really long time,” he said.

“I didn’t really get any traction in any of the tryout periods (for the state team) until under 20s. I think I had been trying out for the same team since under 16s, so it was a long time of working hard.

“It was lucky that I grew a little bit taller and had the confidence from some of the coaches at the state team. They gave me a shot as an emergency and then I got me shot when one of boys was out.

“It was luck, but a lot of fun.”

Peatling also opened up on his time playing college basketball in Cheney, Washington, saying their program allowed him to progress to a point where Melbourne United was able to notice him and signed him as a Development Player for the upcoming 2021 season.

“College was a lot of hard work, but I was surrounded by some great people,” he said.

“I was able to be in a program that allowed me to flourish and develop.”

Peatling is now enjoying time out on court with his new Melbourne United teammates, and will look to further develop his skills across the course of the season to reach the goal of becoming a contracted roster player.