Sydney Kings and Australian Boomers guard Tom Wilson has quit basketball to pursue his AFL dream.
The 21-year old has reportedly drawn interest from Collingwood and Geelong, both of which have already tabled Wilson three-year deals with incentives, according to Fox Sports' Olgun Uluc.
The 194cm product has been described as a swingman with potential to move into the midfield.
“I came to the realisation that, I’m probably not gonna get to the levels I wanna get to, and I have another amazing opportunity in front of me; something I’ve always wanted to do, as well,” Wilson told foxsports.com.au.
“If I went on with basketball, I’d probably only be doing it to please other people; I wouldn’t really be doing it for the right reasons.
“I’ve made the decision knowing I won’t go back to basketball, just because it’s not gonna happen. I don’t think it’s a reality. I’m 100 per cent set on, this is my career now. I’m a football player.”
Wanted to wait for this to come out before anything was said, can’t thank the Sydney kings enough for how they dealt with my situation. A tough position for them to be in but handled with class throughout and genuinely wanted the best for me. Looking forward to the next chapter! https://t.co/FYGhof6dn7
— Tom Wilson (@Tomwilson734) April 8, 2019
Wilson has held talks with a number of AFL clubs and spent time at Geelong's training facilities last year.
The Melbourne-native added that he has long aspired to join the AFL ranks.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to run out in the MCG and play in the AFL,” Wilson said.
“It’s pretty surreal right now. Being in that position where it’s right in front of me, and I have a lot of hard work to do to get to that level; but as I said, it’s been a dream of mine, so to be so close to it right now, it’s pretty amazing.
“I don’t know how it’s gonna go, or what’s gonna happen. Once I decide on a club and where I wanna be, it’s gonna be all guns blazing.”
