Budding basketball prodigy Archie Smith – the son of former Brisbane Bullets NBL All-Star Andre Moore – is the latest athlete to join the Hyundai Brisbane Lions Academy after being identified through the Rookie Search program.

Although a number of US Colleges have already expressed interest in signing Smith to a basketball scholarship, the talented 17 year-old is seriously contemplating a potential AFL career.

Smith’s supreme athleticism first caught the eye of Academy scouts during the U18 State Basketball Classics last year, and the Club acted quickly to provide him with a possible alternate pathway.

He has since started training with the oval ball as part of the Lions Academy’s U18 summer program, and will soon feature in two matches against the Gold Coast Academy in a bid to earn selection in Queensland’s State U18 squad

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Smith will juggle his Academy and basketball commitments throughout the year, before making any definite plans for his immediate sporting future.  

“I’ve always been interested in basketball and was aspiring to play College at the end of the year,” Smith told lions.com.au.

“Eight schools said they are interested, but I’m also starting to enjoy AFL a lot.”

“I’ve been mainly following Nic Naitanui, and see myself as being a similar type of player. I really enjoy the high-flying aspects of the game.”

Despite admitting his skills were “a little bit rusty”; Smith said he has already noticed the impact from a few months of AFL training.

“It has already made me a lot stronger,” he said.

“I still have to get used to the running. I’m used to running up and down a 20m basketball court.”

Lions Academy Manager Luke Curran said Smith’s involvement was another positive step towards building a greater depth of junior talent from non-football backgrounds through the Rookie Search program.  

“We need to make sure we identify and capture elite athletes from all areas – not just junior AFL,” Curran said.

“Our program involves watching a lot of school sports – including basketball and the rugby codes – so that we can cover all our bases.”

“With his size and athleticism, Archie is certainly an exciting prospect, and we’ll help work to manage his commitments as best we can.”

Senior Lions players Daniel Merrett (touch football and volleyball) and Stefan Martin (basketball) have also spent time with Smith to discuss the challenges they faced when switching sports at a relatively late age.

“It’s important that Archie realises that there’s no pressure to perform straight away, and that there is scope for greater development in later years.”

In addition to developing his on-field abilities, the Lions Academy is also committed helping Smith prepare for a ‘Plan B’ in case a professional sporting career doesn’t eventuate. 

Part of that process has involved organising a part-time traineeship with Rebel Sport in Mount Gravatt, which the Club hopes can provide him with a head start on an alternate career option if necessary.