New Mexico freshman guard Hugh Greenwood was expected before the season began to be in the running for one of the spots on the Australian national team.
But with the team’s Olympic trials just over a month away, Greenwood finds himself racing against the clock when it comes to his ankle.
The injury, first suffered on January 4th, nagged Greenwood for the remainder of the season and while the time off since the end of the season has helped he still isn’t 100%.
Australia’s camp begins on June 3rd with decisions to be made on the 12-man roster to come a couple weeks afterward, meaning that every moment Greenwood can spend rehabbing his ankle is an important one.
“You can’t go into these kind of camps against the level of the players there and not be 100 percent,” he said to the Santa Fe New Mexican. “They’ll pick you apart.”
Two key players on the perimeter are Patty Mills (San Antonio Spurs) and Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary’s).
But while their presence would normally mean a tough rotation for a young guard to crack, Australia will likely have to go small with Andrew Bogut ruled out of the Games with an ankle injury of his own.
Having the chance to play in the Olympics would benefit both Greenwood and New Mexico from an experience standpoint, and the chance to represent his country is one that he doesn’t want to miss out on.
“It’s been on the back of my mind since coming here, you know, to put [the suit] on and walk out there in the ceremony, seeing all those people, the fireworks and the show,” Greenwood said. “That would be pretty cool.”
Raphielle is also the assistant editor at CollegeHoops.net and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.