AFL great backs new NBL signing

In the 2022 AFL season, late in the second quarter of Round 4, Tom Wilson scooped up a loose ball, deep in Collingwood’s forward line and snapped through his first career goal.

As the Magpie team swarmed in celebration of him from all over the ground, it was Collingwood great Scott Pendlebury who was first to celebrate with Wilson.

After stepping away from the sport to join the AFL in 2019, Wilson's career has come full circle as he returns to the basketball court, signing with Melbourne United for the upcoming NBL season.

With Wilson now locked in, Pendlebury is thrilled to see his former teammate back in the NBL.

“Great to see him get a chance, (he) works his backside off,” he told NBL Media.

“(He’s) competitive and just loves the game.”

Coming through the junior ranks, Wilson was one of the most promising local talents around in both sports – ultimately leading to a tough decision in 2014.

Wilson decided to leave an AFL scholarship on the table and join the Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport for basketball.  

That situation is one that Pendlebury could relate to, having faced the same choice early in his career, when he initially accepted a scholarship for basketball at the AIS. 

Pendlebury ultimately left AIS shortly after that began and returned to Victoria to play AFL. It was a decision that Wilson saw as opportunity to learn from and lean on one of the all-time greats. 

“He was my idol growing up,” Wilson said on Monday.

“We’ve now become really good mates… like brothers. 

“He’s someone who is always there for me… he really just taught me how to be a professional. You don’t play 400-plus AFL games with luck, it’s a lot of hard work and dedication.”

Those four years at Collingwood now set up the next phase in Wilson’s career, joining a United program that he is familiar with over the past two years since returning to NBL1 for the Melbourne Tigers.

“We had the opportunity to have him practice with us last season and I was really impressed with the guard skill set that he had. Seeing him play in our building against our guys gave us confidence that he was ready to return to the league,” United coach Dean Vickerman said.

Pendlebury has been a prominent figure around the club in recent years, largely due to his close relationship with Assistant Coach Rhys Carter, and he knows exactly what Wilson can bring to the program both on and off the court.

“(He) will be a great culture guy, he brings the locker room together really well,” he said. 

Pendlebury and Wilson’s strong relationship at Collingwood included their fair share of contests on the hardwood.

“We did have some battles out on the court there, it was good fun,” Wilson said with a smile. 

“He’s got some game… for all the people who want to know what he was like; he was a serious basketball player.

“He’s someone I feel very lucky to call a friend.”