Stars of the future and young temammtes Christian Petracca and Ben Simmons with Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley. But in their childhood the pair were co-captains of the Victorian Primary Schools basketball team and budding junior footballers with Beverley Hills, also the club Petracca's AFL coach Paul Roos hails from. Simmons and Petracca would play footy and basketball together and indulge in McDonald's and fried chicken. Simmons was born into a basketball family after his father Dave first came to Australia to play as a US import in the NBL with Melbourne Tigers in the 1990s but as Petracca remembers it, a 12 year old Ben looked destined to be an AFL superstar. "He was a really good tap ruckman and used to feed it down my throat in the midfield," Petracca said.

Two young sports stars Ben Simmons and Christian Petracca. "I reckon if he played AFL he would be a superstar. "He could kick, he could run and he was just a freak. You had confidence in him and he had confidence in himself which was probably the best thing about him - he knows he was good and knows he would dominate which was the best thing." Petracca wasn't a bad player either and as he entered his teenage years would make both the Victorian Metro under-15 football side and Vic Metro under-16 basketball side. The now Melbourne Demons midfielder was an impressive point guard, a strong bodied playmaker similar to Aussie NBA guard Matthew Dellavedova or current Australian guard Adam Gibson.

At the under-16 Australian Junior (basketball) Championships at Kilsyth in 2011 Petracca started as Vic Metro's point guard with Simmons as the team's small forward. Ben Simmons and Christian Petracca represented Victoria in the under-16 Australian Junior Championships. Also in that side were future AFL players Reece McKenzie (Richmond) and Marc Pittonet (Hawthorn) and future US college player Geremy McKay. New South Wales Metro had a 200-centimetre centre named Thon​ Maker who is also expected to be picked in Friday's NBA Draft. Vic Metro went undefeated with Petracca the best point guard and Simmons the most outstanding talent.

"It was an unbelievable tournament and one of my favourite memories," Petracca said. "But don't just look at Ben and me, that team has had so many other players who have gone on to college or AFL and been successful." Ben Simmons is tipped to go No 1. in this year's NBA draft. Credit:AP Both Petracca and Simmons made the squad for the Australian under-17 side despite being bottom age players. Simmons would be a starter while Petracca just missed the cut to a future NBA guard and a future AFL player.

"Dante Exum was in my position and so was Micky Luxford, who's now at Geelong. That's two pretty good players in front of me," Petracca said. Melbourne Boomers WNBL coach Guy Molloy coached that Australian side and the group would go on to win Australia's first silver medal in male basketball, losing to the USA featuring Jabari Parker and Justice Winslow [now both NBA stars]. "Christian was an aggressive, solid defensive player who worked exceptionally hard," Molloy said. "He was a good penetrator and his engine was a big one but what cost him was that he was a year younger and had Exum and Luxford ahead of him. "I definitely felt he had a future in basketball but I knew he had football knocking at the door and would face a decision."

Missing the under-17 side showed Petracca how tough life could be in elite basketball and, combined with his impressive AFL prospects, saw him make a choice. "It was a really hard decision," Petracca said. "I had to speak to the school psychologist about it. It just came down to the fact that it's really hard to go somewhere in basketball and I had a really good shot at footy. "I have a loving family too and I didn't want to leave them to go to college." Christian Petracca has made a big impact in the AFL. Credit:Getty Images

In the 2014 draft the Demons took Petracca with the second pick but earlier that year Australia's NBA players began to make an impact with Patty Mills and Aron Baynes winning a championship with San Antonio Spurs then Andrew Bogut and Matthew Dellavedova starred in last year's NBA Finals. Mills and Dellavedova are point guards just like Petracca and he admits he sometimes asks what could have been. "You always have doubts and even now I sometimes wonder what I would be if I wasn't an AFL player. Would I be over in the NBA?" Petracca said. "But I'm really happy with my decision, I'm 20 years old and I have the best job in the world. I'm playing sport for a living and there is no better feeling than that." What has surprised Petracca most about Simmons' rise is the way he has evolved physically.

"We used to call him baby-faced Ben because he had a young kid's face with such a big body," Petracca said. "We used to eat Maccas all the time after games, we used to always go out and get fried chicken so I never thought he would turn out like the beast he is. "He is incredible and his body size for a 6'10, 19 year old is something else - you can see why he is compared to LeBron James and Magic Johnson." Petracca remains an avid NBA fan and passionately supports the Oklahoma City Thunder. Loading

"I hope he goes to Oklahoma City."