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AFL club Sydney have fashioned Australian rules footballers from rugby league, rugby union and Gaelic football – now they’ve signed US college basketballer Alex Starling.
The 22-year-old will combine his studies at Florida’s Bethune-Cookman University with several trips to Sydney this year to meet with Swans’ coaching staff and try to learn the skills required to cut it at AFL level.
Starling has joined the club under the AFL’s international scholarship scheme, with Sydney hoping to add him to their senior list as an international rookie in 2013.
While there have been plenty of basketballers to crossover to the AFL – headlined by Dean Brogan who won both an NBL and AFL premiership – the Swans’ American approach is more unique than these cases.
The 196cm, 93kg forward was identified by Sydney’s academy coach Paul Roos during a trip to the US in 2011.
Roos invited Starling and three other college basketballers to a two-day camp in Redondo Beach, California, last June.
Starling impressed and then came to Australia for three weeks of testing last August, where his athleticism made an impression on coach John Longmire, development manager Stuart Maxfield, and head of player personnel Kinnear Beatson.
“Alex is not only an outstanding basketballer but he has also played American football as well,” Roos said.
“We saw an amazing athlete with great speed, great hands and an incredible capacity to learn a new game.
“Of course we understand Alex has a lot of work to do but certainly he has the right attitude to attack this enormous challenge.”
Beatson, who heads the Swans’ recruiting team, noted how much potential Starling showed in the three-week period.
“He displayed the ability to grasp the skills of our game, particularly soft hands in marking contests and the capacity to weight his kicks,” he said.
“We are excited about his potential and what the future holds for Alex. He showed in his time with us last year that he also has a fierce desire to succeed.”
Starling will learn under Roos, Maxfield and development coach George Stone when he visits Sydney.
The Swans are hoping he follows in the steps of Irishman Tadhg Kennelly, who won a premiership with the side after coming to Australia on a rookie contract in 1999.
Kieren Jack (rugby league) and Lewis Roberts-Thomson (rugby union) have also crafted AFL careers after picking up the game late, while former Canadian rugby international Mike Pyke has played 28 AFL games.
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