Tasmanian former NBL player Hugh Greenwood signs deal with Crows

CROWS chief recruiter Hamish Ogilvie has described the club’s latest project player as “gifted, unique and fiercely competitive’’.

CROWS chief recruiter Hamish Ogilvie has described the club’s latest project player as “gifted, unique and fiercely competitive’’.

In finally sealing the deal and inking former Perth Wildcats basketballer Hugh Greenwood to a two-year Category B rookie contract Friday, Adelaide says it has secured a player who is “driven to play sport at the highest possible level’’.

Greenwood, 23, turned his back on basketball to pursue his football dream with the Crows after spending a week undergoing medical and fitness testing and kicking a football around with his new teammates at the club’s West Lakes headquarters.

He says he knows he has a lot of hard work ahead of him to make it in the AFL but that he is “excited and motivated’’ by the challenge.

“I know there will be plenty of challenges and obstacles ahead for me but I am humbled to be given this opportunity by the Adelaide Footy Club,” the 193cm Greenwood said.

Greenwood, who turned his back on a three-year contract with the Wildcats worth about $250,000, trialled with NBA club Utah Jazz in May and represented the Boomers last year.

Ogilvie has tracked Greenwood for nearly a decade, first spotting him as an under-age football representative for Tasmania.

Greenwood played for Tasmania at the 2006 under-16 football championships and was offered football and basketball scholarships at the AIS as a 15-year-old, choosing basketball.

His late grandfather Peter Marquis played in three consecutive VFL premierships with Melbourne from 1957-59 and was inducted into the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

The Crows hope to also sign Victorian first-class cricketer Alex Keath, who plans to move to Adelaide in October to play for premier club Prospect.

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