Former Collingwood forward Tom Wilson has opened up on his Magpies exit, revealing plans to potentially secure a return to basketball was underway midway through his final season in the black and white.
Wilson, once a top-rated junior basketball prospect in Victoria, has since returned to the hardwood with his old side, the Melbourne Tigers, in NBL1 South.
The move back to basketball came after a near-five-year stint with Collingwood, who had signed Wilson out of NBL franchise the Sydney Kings midway through the 2019 season as a category B rookie.
The tall-framed attacker would make his debut in 2021 against Sydney and featured in a further three games that season, with Wilson's career in the AFL coming to an end last year after ten matches.
The 26-year-old spent most of last year at the VFL level and would make just one appearance in Collingwood's premiership campaign - a Round 12 showing against St Kilda as the tactical sub.
Wilson had recovered from a back injury sustained in 2022 and would gain a league exemption to extend his ties at Collingwood for another year as a category B rookie following an interrupted few seasons with COVID also having an impact.
Knowing his time at Olympic Park could be coming to in the middle of last season, Wilson has revealed his desire to play basketball was rekindled over the past 12 months.
"The year before (being delisted) I missed the whole season due to back surgery. I spent the majority of the year doing rehab and was lucky enough to be brought back by Collingwood," Wilson told theย NBL1 South Podcastย this week.
"At the time of my back injury I was playing good enough footy that warranted another chance. I knew coming into that contract that if I didn't have a significantly good year that it was going to be tough for me.
"I played one game last year. I've always been someone that thinks being realistic is the best way to go about things, I probably knew my time was coming to an end with Collingwood.
"Probably halfway through the year I thought to myself that I wouldn't mind playing a bit of basketball, I had some other things going on. I had just invested into a business with two mates from high school.
"I started to think I needed to look beyond this year of footy, because it was probably going to wrap up for me."
Wilson has since reunited with Australian basketball legend and his former mentor in Andrew Gaze, who coached Wilson at the Tigers in the SEABL and with the Kings.
The MVP and an All-SEABL First Team player in 2018, Wilson is enjoying a strong start to his Melbourne return. He is leading the Tigers' scoring across their opening two games, averaging 23.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists on 43.24% shooting from the field.
After getting in contact with Melbourne Tigers assistant coach Jay Lomer about a one-off training session, Wilson was immediately offered a roster spot at the end of the scrimmage.
"I sent Jay Lomer a message asking 'When are you guys training? I'd love to come have a run'," Wilson revealed.
"Pretty much after the first session 'Gazey' and Jay said 'If you're keen to play we'd love to have you'. That was sometime in November, so since then I've made the decision that I was going to be back playing for the Melbourne Tigers.
"I'm super pumped to be back with them."
The Tigers' next match is Saturday, April 13, against the Ringwood Hawks at Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre.
