INSTEAD of facing Collingwood in a Friday night blockbuster at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide midfielder Hugh Greenwood could have been chasing Commonwealth Games gold with the Australian men's basketball team.
The Boomers will be hot favourites to win their semi-final on Saturday morning and progress to Sunday's gold medal game on the Gold Coast.
Greenwood, 25, was part of the national program and signed with the Perth Wildcats of the NBL when he quit basketball and joined the Crows as a Category B rookie in 2015.
"If I stayed in Australia, there's other guys playing in that team that I grew up playing with at the AIS," Greenwood told AFL.com.au.
"I always enjoyed representing my country playing for the Boomers and the under-19 Emus.
"To be able to represent your country in the Commonwealth Games would've been pretty remarkable and Australia's chances are pretty high.
"We've got a decent side in and hopefully we get a gold medal."
Greenwood played junior football in Tasmania, but focused on basketball, representing Australia at the 2011 FIBA under-19 world championships.
He was named in the all-tournament team alongside Toronto Raptors centre Jonas Valanciunas and Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lamb, and played college basketball at the University of New Mexico.
After completing his four seasons with the Lobos, Greenwood signed with the Wildcats before joining the Crows.
The move has proven to be an outstanding success with Greenwood playing 15 games last season and stepping up this year in the absence of Matt and Brad Crouch.
Greenwood and Cameron Ellis-Yolmen – who missed all of 2017 with a torn ACL – have joined Bryce Gibbs, Rory Sloane, Richard Douglas and David Mackay in an underrated Crows midfield.
"That's the thing we've got with this group, our weight of numbers and our depth," Greenwood said.
"Guys like myself and Cam are making the most of our opportunity.
"It'll be great when the Crouch brothers come back and it will be tough competition for spots, but we're all playing our hardest and giving it a crack."
Greenwood is an ambassador for Breast Cancer Network Australia after losing his mum Andree last October.
His footy boots are a tribute to his greatest supporter – they have pink laces, the number 43 on the bottom, representing the number of women diagnosed daily in Australia with breast cancer, and the word 'hope', which Andree used constantly during her eight-year battle.
"I want to be able to make sure other families that were affected can have the same sort of support," Greenwood said.
"The support networks we have in Australia are fantastic.
"Not having mum in the stands – she was at most games – is difficult, but it's a process that's going to take some time."
