American Marvin Baynham is a 22-year-old in a hurry; an AFL hopeful not afraid to leap over his rivals.
“I like Nic Nat (Nic Naitanui) and I like Buddy (Franklin),” Baynham, who hails from Miami and grew up dreaming of an NBA career, said of who he wants to model himself on.
“So kind of find a medium in between those two guys and hopefully create my own brand.”
Baynham has already started to do that during tests at the draft combine in Melbourne.
Earlier in the week he set a new record in the standing vertical jump, leaping 88cm.
On Thursday he topped the 20-metre sprint, covering the distance in 2.82 seconds.
Not bad for a man who is 198cm tall.
“It’s a pretty sound accomplishment … I think I can make the conversion pretty well,” he said.
“It gives me confidence, but also it’s just a test. It’s nothing game-wise. I’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
Baynham had not heard of the sport before being invited to April’s US combine, but has since fallen in love and insisted it’s not fleeting.
“I’ve invested time in this game and I just don’t want to be a guy who comes over for two years and goes back,” he said.
“The skills are going to take a while to come, but I’m committed to working my way to the top level.”
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