Luke Merriman with mom Ann.
Elevating and rejecting as an eighth grader. (John Fisken photos)
Droppin’ moves as a high school baller.
Luke Merriman was born to be a point guard.
Fast-walkin, fast-talkin, slicin’ ‘n dicin’ and breakin’ ankles (hopefully not his own), he’s poetry in motion sportin’ the newest gear on his always-moving feet.
A star at the middle school level, the matinee idol-ready Merriman is making the jump to high school hoops this season as a freshman, and he’s ready for the challenge.
“I love being point guard. Sometimes I fear it. The joy of playing point guard is leading the team and taking care of everyone,” Merriman said. “I’m an average size for a point guard, I would say. I’m not really tiny and I’m not really big.
“The only thing I fear about being point guard, is that, if you mess up, you feel like you let everybody down. Or when you’re the one that is told to take a game-winning shot,” he added. “It’s always exciting to be a point guard. With every play as a point guard I try to be a dribbler and a shooter.
“Most of all I try to be a team leader and help others out on court.”
A former soccer and track athlete, Merriman picked up basketball in 2006, bouncing from the Boys & Girls Club to AAU and then school basketball. Nowadays he’s solely focused on hoops.
“The biggest thing I enjoy about basketball is the fast movement. I love the running and physicalness of it,” he said. “I enjoy the dribbling and the shooting.
“I even enjoy the apparel/shoes. I love getting new basketball shoes and new equipment,” Merriman added. “Every time I play basketball inside or outside I’m just playing to have fun and get better.”
At the middle school level, he showed a willingness to slash to the hoop and throw his relatively thin body against the big bangers.
“As a small basketball player I believe the lil’ guys should drive in,” he said with a grin.
Merriman wants to work on bulking up a bit, which might help in preventing more injuries. He has Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), which is why he can often be seen sporting a variety of casts and splints.
“My biggest goal this season is to become bigger. I’m tired of being just bones, with no meat on my body,” Merriman said. “Time to get in the weight room and gain some muscle and get like the big boys.”
A tireless worker, he’s always working on his basketball skills with an eye on constant improvement.
“I think my strength is dribbling. Of course, I’m not the best in dribbling but every night I go outside and try to get better in every area of the game,” Merriman said. “I’d like to work on my driving and shooting before the season begins.
“I need to work on shooting. My shooting isn’t the greatest,” he added. “I love to be in a gym with nobody there and just put shots up. I could do it 24/7!”
In the rare moments when he doesn’t have a basketball in his hand, Merriman can be found snowboarding, listening to music (he bounces from hip hop to rap, rock, pop and country), playing college football on his Playstation and looking for new shoes to buy (“I love buying shoes”).
A fan of “That ’70s Show” and “Friday Night Lights,” he also enjoys James Bond films, “21 Jump Street” and its sequel and basketball flicks like “Coach Carter” and “Love & Basketball.”
Whether in school, on the hardwood or in day-to-day life, Merriman credits his parents, Shawn and Ann Merriman, for the way they have helped guide him.
“My mother and father have probably had the biggest impact in my life.
“My father lives in Memphis, but he has always been there for me no matter if it was just to talk or help with homework,” he said. “My mother has always been there for me. She has done so much for me, like sneak me in the X-Ray room late at night to see if my bone was actually broke, just so that I didn’t have to go to the ER.”
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