- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The son of Brisbane Bullets legend Andre Moore was always expected to feature in the draft – the NBA draft, that is.
But the Brisbane Lions have pulled off a mighty coup by snaring Moore’s son Archie Smith via the 2013 AFL Rookie Draft when they finalised their player list on Wednesday.
Smith, 18, capped a whirlwind AFL introduction when he was snapped up by the Lions (pick No.69) along with Queensland under 18 captain Isaac Conway (No.6) and Zac OBrien (No.23).
Smith looked on track to repeat the success of his father – dubbed the “A-Train” in a 14-year pro career that began in the NBA – when he received several US college basketball scholarship offers.
However, the 200cm Smith derailed his immediate NBA chances by opting for the Lions after 12 months in the AFL club’s development program.
His basketball lineage can’t be questioned – Moore played with Denver and Milwaukee in the NBA before dominating the NBL with Brisbane.
But his son has an obvious knack for AFL.
After just six months of training, Smith was picked for Queensland in this year’s Under 18 AFL national championships and featured in a total of eight NEAFL matches with Mt Gravatt and the Brisbane Lions Reserves.
The budding ruckman still displayed his father’s love for “hang time” when he received an exclusive invitation to the AFL Draft Combine at Etihad Stadium in October.
He finished first in the running vertical leap (97cm).
“We’re really happy to have Archie on board,” Lions national talent manger Rob Kerr said.
“It’s a real coup for the club and the Lions Academy to convert such a promising basketball player to our code.
“Clubs spend a considerable amount of time scouring the world for such natural talents, and it’s terrific that we’ve been able to find one in our own backyard.
“Archie has shown an enormous amount of improvement over the past 12 months, and has many of the attributes to succeed in the AFL.
“That said, he’s still very much a work in progress, and will require a considerable amount of development before he’s ready to play senior AFL football.”
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.