Recruiting basketballers from the USA (for AFL) has got to be the one of the stupidest strategies ever.
By definition, these guys are far from elite athletes.
Even the lowest paid gig in the NBA is a better option that trying to convert to AFL. And if they're not quite good enough, there are leagues allover the world willing to pay good money for decent BBL players.
At the same time, if the AFL wants to chase young guys with elite athleticism and the raw skills required, there's at least a few million young blokes in Africa who would give their left nut for a chance to play sport in Australia.
The problem is that even elite players (like Rugby Leagues' Folau and Hunt) take years of development to make the switch. And who's going to pay them whilst they do that? Realistically this means the raw recruits need to come across and spend a few years in the 2nd tier semi-pro leagues (VFL/SANFL/WAFL/NEAFL) where they basically play for pizza, pride, and a crack. How many QUALITY basketball players would be prepared to give up their preferred game to come and play for Claremont in the WAFL? Especially when anybody good enough to get a game, could probably do better sticking with BBL.
There's also the point that the huge list of AFL discards is chock full of guys that had elite endurance and speed, but lacked sufficient skill or understanding to make it at the top level. And these are often guys who have been playing footy since they were tikes.