Sounds like the people who had him before were idiots.
I don't use a hook for my 6' long, 7 pound female; I can't imagine using a hook for a male.
A RTB maybe, a Dumerils perhaps, a Hogg Island for sure, but not a ball python.
And by the way, they are tougher than they look. I don't condone throwing your snake or dropping it from ceiling height, but a little fall like that he should be fine.
Gale