how many past ABL players are now playing footy and cashing in on the hight and ball skill factor.

Luke Walsh West Adelaide/Bridgewater
Jason Baylis South Adelade/????
Jason Williams Sturt/36ers/?????
Ben Lomman Norwood/Athlestone
Matt Illman Sturt/Goodwood Saints
Nathan Baggott Woodville/Port Districts
Paul Vandenbergh Cenrals/United Districts
Jordan Dodman Sturt/Nth Adelaide
Will Banton West Adelaide/?????

All of these guys are 6'4 and up, all rucking somewhere and cashing in on their first love.

any others out there, lets put these guys in a possible best 18, dam we have enough ruckman.

Jack Watts recieved a basketball scholarship to the AIS as well as his AFL one. Pretty highly rated, from what I hear, as a 194 cm guard.

Dean Brogan

To answer the original question - Lewis Johnston (CHF) played for Port Pirie in a few Junior Country Championships at 14's and 16's & also played a bit of SAC basketball (don't think he made nationals though). I'm not sure he even played district, could be wrong though.

At the Aussie Iran game a few weeks back I commented to my mate if David Barlow said tomorrow that he wanted to switch to footy he would walk into an AFL team - 6'9', quick, strong, can jump, agile, skillful ... he laughed me off and said "out of all the stupid things you have ever said that is the stupidest".

Thing is I don't think it is that far fethced - thoughts?

That sounds pretty correct SVD but he might be a little skinny though? Also he might not have any kicking ability.

Surely anyone can be taught how to kick ... can't be that hard - I'm not one to talk though - I can't kick for sh*t.

Ruckman are usually between 6'4' and 6'7' (with a few taller getting to the 6'9' to 7'0') - at 6'9' he would be one of the tallest people in the AFL.

I don't think he is that skinny - he is wirey but pretty cut ... I think he would be strong.

Will Banton was playing for Port Magpies, now at Gaza.

Scott Pendlebury at Collingwood played with Sale Sonics and quit the AIS after 1 week to instead try his hand at footy.
Joel Macdonald at Brisbane is another. He played State Primary School basketball for VIC before leaving for QLD and ultimately an AFL career.
There are so many basketballers turned footballers playing AFL nowadays...

PS: Jack Watts is a gun point guard and with the lack of quality PG in this country, he could have ended up playing for Australia and the the Olympics down the track if he chose to stock with it and take up the AIS scholarship.

on de revers side:
shane heal iz de most well known aussie. And A.I use ta play football in College as a quartrback !!!

Tippett?

I think we are maybe underestimating the skill level and talent the top level football players have today. To say David Barlow would be picked up in an instant is not necessarily true I don't think. If you can't kick, handball, read the play, time your leap etc etc then you can't play footy (especially at a high level). I think you'll find most basketballers that become very good footballers have played some level of footy as a junior, if not all...

Agreed, to assume any basketballer would immediately fit into an AFL team is just playing absurd. The skill in todays football is twice what it was 3 years ago and 20 times what it was 10 years ago.

Btw, Jace Bode was always a footballer, even if he played a bit of bball on the side. Out of the previous basketballers id say pendlebury is the best footy player. He will be a gun midfielder for years to come.

Ivan Maric from the Cows played state basket ball in Victoria before his footy career

those guys r wak. dont dey know ders more money in bball. look at Bogut earnin millions n millions $$$ !! guess is easer ta b a big fish in a small amrket den a small fish in a big market !!!

If anyone was going to pick up on this, surely Bo would've

Ranga Ediriwickrama (NSW/ACT)

Tom Scully (Vic Metro)

Jack Watts (Vic Metro)

Daniel Rich (Western Australia)

there is a much better living to be made in this country playing footy than basketball and most other sports... The AFL garentees this by saying that their clubs have to make a minimum of 4 delistings each year. That is an oppurtunity for 60+ kids each year to go into the AFL system. Still have to be talented enough mind you.