CLUBS are continuing to monitor talented youngster Alex Condon as a potential pick-up after he decided to pursue a career in the NBA over the AFL.
Condon, a 211cm prospect, was eligible for the AFL draft in 2022 but chose at the end of 2021 to stop playing football so he could focus on basketball.
Over the past week, Condon has been participating in the Australian under-20 junior championships in basketball in Victoria, with a number of clubs, including Collingwood, Geelong and Sydney, in attendance to watch him play. West Coast, too, is among the clubs interested.
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The 18-year-old is committed to following his basketball pathway, and has taken on a scholarship at the University of Florida, but the continued interest from AFL clubs has also given him another option if he is not drafted into the NBA.
Condon isn't able to be listed by a club as a category B rookie until after he has gone three years since his most recent game of football at any level – meaning he wouldn't be able to join an AFL club officially until late 2024 at the earliest.
However, clubs are keeping close tabs on him and registering their interest to get in front of the queue, particularly given the scarcity of tall prospects and ruckmen in the system.
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It is understood Condon had considered nominating for the AFL draft last year and allowing a club to pick him while he pursued his NBA dream, however he chose against it.
Condon, who had featured for Western Australia at the under-18 championships in mid-2021 and played for Claremont in the WAFL, has also engaged an agent, in Hemisphere Management Group's Tom Seccull, to transition him through the process.
