Tom Wilson (basketball)

Thomas Glen Joseph Wilson (born 24 June 1997) is an Australian former professional basketball player, turned Australian rules football player who plays for the Collingwood Football Club

Tom Wilson
Personal information
Born (1997-06-24) 24 June 1997
Melbourne, Victoria
NationalityAustralian
Listed height194 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight77 kg (170 lb)
Career information
High schoolCaulfield Grammar School
(Melbourne, Victoria)
CollegeSMU (2016–2017)
Playing career2014–present
PositionPoint guard
Career history
2014–2015BA Centre of Excellence
2016Frankston Blues
2017Melbourne Tigers
2018–2019Sydney Kings
Career highlights and awards
  • SEABL MVP (2018)
  • All-SEABL First Team (2018)
  • 2× SEABL Youth Player of the Year (2017, 2018)

Early life

Wilson was born in Melbourne, Victoria.[1] As a junior, Wilson played basketball for the Sandringham Sabres and the Melbourne Tigers.[2] He attended Caulfield Grammar School, and in 2012, he was a member of their Australian Schools Championship winning side.[3] He also played cricket and Australian rules football as a junior. Wilson represented Victoria in the 2013 NAB AFL U16 Championship.[4] Shortly after, Wilson was awarded a NAB AFL Level 1 scholarship.[5]

Basketball career

Early career

Around the same time, Wilson was offered a scholarship to attend Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence (COE) at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.[6] Wilson chose to forgo the NAB AFL Level 1 scholarship[7] and accepted Basketball Australia's COE scholarship.[8] Wilson played for Basketball Australia's COE in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) in 2014 and 2015.[9][10][11]

There were a number of US colleges looking at Wilson after he played well for Australia's under-17 side when they almost beat USA in the gold medal game at the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship.[12] In October 2015, he committed to SMU and coach Larry Brown.[12]

During the 2015–16 NBL season, Wilson spent time with Melbourne United as a development player.[12] In 2016, he played for the Frankston Blues in the SEABL alongside his brother Jack.[12] In nine games for Frankston, he averaged 11.1 points per game.[13]

College career

In November 2015, Wilson signed with SMU.[14][15] In June 2016, Wilson joined the Mustangs ahead of the 2016–17 season.[12] However, a month later, Larry Brown resigned from his position, with Tim Jankovich taking over the head spot. In December 2016, Wilson decided to transfer from SMU.[16] In 10 games for the 10–3 Mustangs, Wilson averaged 1.6 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists, in just 6.1 minutes per game.[16]

In January 2017, Wilson committed to Boise State University.[17] However, in February, he made the decision to turn professional, due to NCAA rules indicating that Wilson would have to sit out a year before taking the court for the Broncos.[18][19]

Professional career

In 2017, Wilson played for the Melbourne Tigers in the SEABL. In 17 games, he averaged 19.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.[13]

On 10 August 2017, Wilson signed a three-year deal with Serbian club Partizan.[20] After a contract dispute forced him out of Partizan, Wilson spent the second half of the 2017–18 NBL season on the Sydney Kings' training roster.[21]

On 5 February 2018, Wilson re-committed to the Melbourne Tigers for the 2018 season.[22] On 15 May 2018, he was named SEABL Player of the Week for Round 6.[23] A week later, he was named SEABL Player of the Week for Round 7.[24] On 10 June 2018, he was named Player of the Month for May.[25] At the season's end, he was named the SEABL MVP alongside All-SEABL First Team and Australian Youth Player of the Year.[26]

On 19 April 2018, Wilson signed a 'one plus one' deal with the Sydney Kings, with the club holding the option on a second year.[1] The Kings took up that option on 29 March 2019,[27] but on 8 April, he made the decision to cut ties with basketball and join the ranks of Australian rules football.[28][29][30]

National team career

Wilson debuted for Australia at the 2013 FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship, averaging 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. In 2014, he competed at the FIBA Under-17 World Championship and the FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship. At the FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Dubai, Wilson helped Australia reach the gold medal game, where they lost to the USA 99–92 despite a 23-point effort from Wilson.[1] For the tournament, Wilson averaged 12.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. In 2015, at the FIBA Under-19 World Championship, he averaged 6.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.[31] In March 2019, he made his debut for the Australian Boomers.[32]

AFL career

In April 2018, it was revealed that Wilson would be joining an AFL club on a multi-year contract as a Category B rookie.[29] On 3 May 2019, it was announced that Wilson had signed with Collingwood on a three-year Category B rookie contract, having beaten Geelong, Hawthorn and Gold Coast for his services.[33]

References
  1. "Sydney Kings sign young gun Wilson". sydneykings.com. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  2. VJBL. "2016 Basketball Victoria - Tom Wilson - Victoria's next rising star : Thomas Wilson". Basketball Victoria. Basketball Victoria. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  3. Sporting Pulse. "2012 Championship Men - Championship Men Final". Sporting Pulse. Sporting Pulse. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  4. South Metro Junior Football League. "SMJFL JUNIORS IN VIC METRO U16 SQUAD". smjfl. South Metro Junior Football League. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  5. AFL Victoria. "2013-14 AIS-AFL Academy Squads - Thomas Wilson". AFL Victoria - SportsTG. AFL Victoria - SportsTG. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  6. Basketball Australia. "Scholarships awarded for 2014 BA National Centre of Excellence Men's Program - Tom Wilson". www.basketball.net.au. Basketball Australia. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  7. AFL Victoria. "2013-14 AIS-AFL Academy Squads - Thomas Wilson". AFL Victoria - SportsTG. AFL Victoria - SportsTG. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  8. Basketball Australia. "Scholarships awarded for 2014 BA National Centre of Excellence Men's Program - Tom Wilson". www.basketball.net.au. Basketball Australia. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  9. Basketball Australia. "Scholarships awarded for 2014 BA National Centre of Excellence Men's Program - Tom Wilson". www.basketball.net.au. Basketball Australia. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  10. Basketball Australia. "CoE Men's Team ready for SEABL challenge". www.basketball.net.au. Basketball Australia. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  11. Pick and Roll. "Meeting Your 2015 Centre of Excellence (AIS) squads". www.pickandroll.com.au. Pick and Roll. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  12. Ward, Roy. "Melbourne Basketballer to join legendary coach Larry Brown at SMU in 2016 : Thomas Wilson". www.smh.com.au. SMH. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  13. "Player statistics for Tom Wilson". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  14. Embody, Billy (13 November 2015). "SMU Signing Day Profile: Tom Wilson". www.scout.com. Pony Stampede. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  15. SMU Mustangs. "Tom Wilson And Dashawn McDowell Sign With The Mustangs". www.smumustangs.com. SMU. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  16. Uluc, Olgun (22 December 2016). "Australian freshman Tom Wilson to transfer from SMU — sources". FoxSports.com.au. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  17. Uluc, Olgun (8 January 2017). "Australian SMU transfer Tom Wilson commits to Boise State University — sources". FoxSports.com.au. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  18. Sicari, Luke (3 February 2017). "Tom Wilson to bypass college and turn professional". pickandroll.com.au. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  19. Katz, Michael (1 February 2017). "Tom Wilson leaves Boise State basketball team to pursue professional career in Australia : Thomas Wilson". www.idahostatesman.com. Idaho Statesman. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  20. "Tom Vilson tri godine u Partizanu". kkpartizan.rs (in Serbian). 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  21. Uluc, Olgun (19 April 2018). "Tom Wilson signs two-year deal with Sydney Kings — sources". adelaidenow.com.au. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  22. "Tom Wilson returns for SEABL 2018". tigersbasketball.com.au. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  23. "SPALDING MEN'S PLAYER OF THE WEEK: TOM WILSON". SEABL.com.au. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  24. "SPALDING MEN'S PLAYER OF THE WEEK: TOM WILSON". SEABL.com.au. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  25. "MAY MEN'S PLAYER AND COACH OF THE MONTH". SEABL.com.au. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  26. "NICHOLSON AND WILSON TAKE OUT 2018 MVP". SEABL.com.au. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  27. "Kings Bring Back Lisch, Wilson and Kickert". NBL.com.au. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  28. Uluc, Olgun (8 April 2019). "AFL 2019: Tom Wilson leaves basketball and NBL to pursue footy dream". FoxSports.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  29. Cleary, Mitch (8 April 2019). "From basketball to footy: Aussie Boomer set to join AFL ranks". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  30. "Sydney Grant Release to Tom Wilson". NBL.com.au. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  31. "Tom Wilson's profile". FIBA.com. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  32. Ellison, Liam (6 March 2019). "TOM WILSON'S BOOMERS BREAKTHROUGH". australia.basketball. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  33. Niall, Jake (3 May 2019). "Pies beat Cats in race for basketball star and ex-gun junior Wilson". The Age.
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