Basketball a family affair for Lufile brothers

Basketball is a family affair for Lufile brothers Shadrack and Meshack Lufile are more than just teammates, they’re brothers, playing side-by-side for the Halifax Hurricanes.

Professional sports teammates share a common bond. But for two members of the Halifax Hurricanes basketball team, that bond goes much deeper than the team they play for.

Their basketball careers have taken them around the world, but now brothers Chadrack and Meshack Lufile are playing side-by-side for the Halifax Hurricanes.

“I don’t think many athletes get that opportunity to play with their brother,” says Meshack Lufile, a 6’8” forward. “It’s been good, he’s been trying to big brother me a lot since he’s been here, part of the reason I won’t room with him, but it’s been a pleasure being on the same team because we push each other.”

Meshack has been with the Hurricanes since training camp. When his older brother Chadrack became a free agent in December, Meshack pushed Hurricanes coach Mike Leslie to sign him up.

“They happen to be brothers, they play similar positions, so they challenge each other on a daily basis, so it gets a little competitive for both of them,” says Leslie, the 2017-18 NBL Canada Coach of the Year. “They bring a great work ethic, they are very good fellows to have in the community and the team.”

“Him being here just makes me feel a little bit more at home, being able to battle against him in practice and knowing that it’s all love and we’re just trying to make each other better, it’s a blessing and I’ll never take that for granted,” says Chadrack Lufile, a 6’9” forward who recently moved in the Hurricanes starting lineup.

Growing up in Burlington, Ontario, the brothers say basketball played a big role in their childhood, and helped bring their family closer together.

“We didn’t need friends per say, we had four brothers, so we’d go to the gym, or the YMCA and play against each other, that kept us away from trouble,” says Meshack.

The Lufile brothers last played together in high school nearly a decade ago. Since then, their basketball journeys have taken them around to the world, from playing professionally in Europe and South America, to the highs of the NCAA Final Four, where Chadrack suited up for the Wichita State Shockers in 2013.

“Growing up watching college basketball on TV and then seeing it come true in real life, I look back at it as something I can tell my kids, ‘I was involved in a Final Four run, I was involved in an undefeated season,” remembers Chadrack of his time at Wichita State.

Meshack played his university basketball for the Cape Breton Capers, winning an Atlantic University Sport Defensive Player of the Year award, and helping lead his team to an AUS Championship in 2013, just weeks before his brothers Wichita State team lost in the National Semi-Final.

“I had my own season but I was living through him that whole year” remembers Meshack. “So seeing him lose was pretty heartbreaking, but that same year I won a championship. His success is my success and my success is his.”

Now, the brothers have been reunited as teammates once again. They play the same position, meaning they often are tasked with defending each other in practice, much to the delight of their teammates and head coach.

“There is always that challenge of one brother getting the better of another, and some of the other players set it up so they are going exactly head to head, to sort of challenge them to get the better of his brother and to tell him that too,” says Coach Mike Leslie.

“Every day in practice, we make each other better,” says Chadrack. “I kind of try to be rough on him and hit him in his weak spots, but at the end of the day it’s making him better.”

A sibling rivalry that the Hurricanes hope helps push them to an NBL Canada championship.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Allan April.