Highlights of his young pro-career, which saw him play in France, Spain and England, include the Londoner being part of a BCM Gravelines Dunkerque U21 ProA Espoirs team that took on SIG Strasbourg, featuring a pre-NBA draft Frank Ntilikina, to win the Trophée du Futur – a three-day playoff event featuring young superstars of the French national basketball league when he was 17 years old – as well as a runner up trophy for the Worcester Wolves in the BBL Cup.
His hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, however, know him better for his achievements on hit reality TV show Love Island and blossoming relationship with girlfriend Molly Marsh – entering the villa on day one, Noble stayed the course on the romance competition, finishing joint fourth with Marsh.
He isn’t the first British pro-baller to feature on the ITV programme either, following in the footsteps of London Lions’ Ovie Soko, who appeared in the fifth season.
Why does Love Island have a penchant for basketball players? Noble says it’s all about the height and the swagger.
“We’re tall, athletic, and full of confidence. What’s not to love?” said the 27-year-old, who started his basketball career at Lewisham Thunder [now London Thunder] coached by Basketball England’s Head of Talent and Performance Steve Bucknall.
COVID-19 derailed Noble’s fledgling basketball career, and he had to find other means to contribute to his mum’s household.
“Having grown up in the basketball world and playing at such high levels, I understood how difficult it would be to maintain being a professional. I didn’t know whether it would be more beneficial for me to take a risk and just stop pursuing something I love [and do something else] because in all honesty, time was ticking and I didn’t know if I’d actually ever reach the level that I needed to be, to make it financially viable."
Hitting the gym would prove to become his main passion and lead him onto a new career path.
Working out had given him a massive physical and mental well-being transformation and helped him keep aspects of his basketball fitness and competitiveness.
From there he did his personal training qualifications and started working at his local David Lloyd’s as a PT.
When one door closes another opens – upon opening his Instagram direct messages one day, he read an invitation from the producers of Love Island asking him if he wanted to audition to be on the show.
Regardless of newfound fame and influence, basketball hasn’t been far from Noble’s mind and BE’s #ProjectSwish campaign stirred up a desire for him to get back involved with the basketball community.
Just last month he attended the Myles Hesson Basketball Court launch as part of the Birmingham 2022 legacy project.
“I’ve enjoyed the opportunities that have come my way since leaving Love Island, and am truly grateful for all the things that I have done," he said. "But I know who I am, and I know where I’ve come from, and I now want to concentrate on working with brands and organisations that align with me and my principles.
"I saw #ProjectSwish and immediately reached out because it just gave me flashbacks to when I was a kid looking for a local court that still had a net - nothing's better than the sound of a swish - and I just knew I had to get involved. I wanted to reach out and see if there was anything that I could do to help in someway.
"It's important to me that I use my newly found platform in a positive way, and going back to my youth basketball roots is a no brainer.
"While I have been lucky to have played under some brilliant coaches, eg Lloyd Gardner at Barking Abbey and Paul James at Worcester Wolves, coach Steve Bucknall from Lewisham Thunder definitely had the biggest impact on me growing up.
“One of my goals that I really want to achieve is to organise a charity fundraising event for my old club; to give thanks for making me the man I am today and the lifetime of memories."
Now living in Northamptonshire, Noble says that he’s not against playing professionally again, either, as long as the offer was right. Once a shooter, always a shooter.
“As long as I have access to a court where I can just dedicate time to training twice a day and getting my reps up, I would consider it," he added. "There’s lot of rust on these joints, so I might need a bit of WD40, but I’m living proof that anything can happen when you least expect it, so never say never.”
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