Akok Akok withdraws from Putnam Science Academy

[djct1999]

This is either good or bad. Additionally, it may not mean anything.

It means something. Either good or bad.

 

[Hi-Low]

This is the kid who tried to sit on the bench a few days ago. Let's wait and see how this plays out before we all freak out.

No reason to freak out, the kid seems like he wants to start getting paid.....it's a free country go for it.

At this point I have moved on but wtf knows, it's Madness 365 trying to get inside teenage heads. It's a crapshoot with top 40 players, most think they will be 1 and done anyway.

 

[Mokum]

Was watching NBA a bit today and thinking about this. This teenage boy is nuts if he thinks he is ready to play with those grown men. If in fact that is what he is thinking. Will be interestng how this unfolds. If he does something stupid, we just move on. He is not going to make or break our program, and quite frankly his desire to turn pro asap does not make me think he is the kind of guy we need to get. I want to get guys who will stick around. Veteran teams are the best teams, not one and dones focused on themselves and impressing NBA scouts , clearly looking at college as a temporary stepping stone. We will see what happens in the next few days.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

Maybe I’m just being a homer but I feel strangely optimistic about this move. Highly unlikely he’d doing this and not either go pro or commit to UConn. After recent feedback we’ve been hearing about his NBA prospects I like our chances. If he’s going pro straight away he’s a sure fire G leaguer for at least a year or 2. College route makes more sense unless he needs the money.

 

[tcf15]

Strange move. No scholarships for UConn unless someone decides to transfer so don't see him enrolling here for the second semester. Come on down Mr. Coulibaly.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

Strange move. No scholarships for UConn unless someone decides to transfer so don't see him enrolling here for the second semester. Come on down Mr. Coulibaly.

Perhaps he enrolls without a scholarship for one semester?

 

[Mokum]

Maybe I’m just being a homer but I feel strangely optimistic about this move. Highly unlikely he’d doing this and not either go pro or commit to UConn. After recent feedback we’ve been hearing about his NBA prospects I like our chances. If he’s going pro straight away he’s a sure fire G leaguer for at least a year or 2. College route makes more sense unless he needs the money.

I can’t believe he needs money. What is his family doing,living outdoors under a bridge? He will have plenty of money soon enough if he follows the right path. Which in my mind would be play at least a couple years in college. You are housed, fed and have medical coverage. Your family can wait a few years to start spending your money.

 

[scuba lou]

Is there a possibility he enrolls for the spring semester? Could he enroll with student aid like Drummond did and go in scholarship in the fall?

 

[navery12]

I can’t believe he needs money. What is his family doing,living outdoors under a bridge? He will have plenty of money soon enough if he follows the right path. Which in my mind would be play at least a couple years in college. You are housed, fed and have medical coverage. Your family can wait a few years to start spending your money.

I have no idea if this applies to Akok, but for a lot of people they don't have the luxury of just waiting a few years for a player to start making money. It's a lot easier said than done

 

[tcf15]

Perhaps he enrolls without a scholarship for one semester?

Perhaps, but I think that's a pretty rare occurrence in CBB. I'd be very surprised if that happens.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

I have no idea if this applies to Akok, but for a lot of people they don't have the luxury of just waiting a few years for a player to start making money. It's a lot easier said than done

Agreed. You never know a families circumstances.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

Perhaps, but I think that's a pretty rare occurrence in CBB. I'd be very surprised if that happens.

True, but it is also pretty rare for a borderline 5 star prospect to drop out this early in the prep school year.

 

[BackAftaThis]

I in no way mean this in a derogatory manner towards anyone, but it’s amazing how close to the vest Akok is keeping all his moves.

With all the people here who have connections either to the UConn staff or PSA staff, I feel like this move just came out of nowhere.

I wonder how much Hurley and the staff are aware of this situation.

 

[WhartonHusky]

What I don’t get is that if he actually plans to spend 7mos preparing for the draft—who pays for that? Presumably he was attending PSA for free. Now he needs a place to live, $$ to train, etc.

 

[BackAftaThis]

What I don’t get is that if he actually plans to spend 7mos preparing for the draft—who pays for that? Presumably he was attending PSA for free. Now he needs a place to live, $$ to train, etc.

Exactly. This is what seems odd to me. Not like a trainer is free. Unless an agent fronts the money to recoup it from Akok’s future contracts.

 

[HawkHusky]

Why was Akok doing a post-graduate year to begin with?

 

[djct1999]

Exactly. This is what seems odd to me. Not like a trainer is free. Unless an agent fronts the money to recoup it from Akok’s future contracts.

It is very common for an agent to 'loan' a client money prior to signing a contract.

 

[Mr. French]

Exactly. This is what seems odd to me. Not like a trainer is free. Unless an agent fronts the money to recoup it from Akok’s future contracts.

That is what happens, if he hires one.

 

[UconnFanDC]

I hope Uconn scores 100 or more points the next game.

 

[smoothcriminal]

My gut is now telling me he’s training with someone for the next few months and if he doesn’t get drafted in spring, ends up enrolling at UConn. Really no reason for him to play prep school ball n go to class if he already has a dimploma and top level college offers and only cares about turning heads at the draft combine in a few months time

 

[Scrutineer]

To teach science?

This whole thing stopped making sense after his official. Good luck to the kid. Also, can someone remind me why Putnam Science even exists?

song called science by dolby - Bing

 

[I Bleed Blue]

I in no way mean this in a derogatory manner towards anyone, but it’s amazing how close to the vest Akok is keeping all his moves.

With all the people here who have connections either to the UConn staff or PSA staff, I feel like this move just came out of nowhere.

I wonder how much Hurley and the staff are aware of this situation.

He’s 19.

Ready, Fire, Aim.

We’ve all been there.

 

[navery12]

Given the change where undrafted players can now return to school, I'm curious how that would affect Akok. Wonder if there's a scenario where he "commits" to a school and then enters the draft to see if he gets picked

 

[BackAftaThis]

He’s 19.

Ready, Fire, Aim.

We’ve all been there.

I’m 30.

I can relate except when I was 19 I’d break up with my girlfriend spur of the moment.

Talk about a completely different life these kids live.

 

[StepbackCity]

So do we start going all in on Mitchell or the Coulibaly kid?

 

[smoothcriminal]

Given the change where undrafted players can now return to school, I'm curious how that would affect Akok. Wonder if there's a scenario where he "commits" to a school and then enters the draft to see if he gets picked

Isn’t lecque doing something like this?

 

[navery12]

Isn’t lecque doing something like this?

Yeah he's considering entering the draft as well, and is likely in a similar situation where he won't go round 1. I'm honestly not sure if the same rule would apply and allow these kids to go to college if they went undrafted, but from what I've read it sounds like it could.

 

[tcf15]

Yeah he's considering entering the draft as well, and is likely in a similar situation where he won't go round 1. I'm honestly not sure if the same rule would apply and allow these kids to go to college if they went undrafted, but from what I've read it sounds like it could.

In order to be able to return, undrafted guys need to have been invited to the NBA Combine. Last year, of all the undrafted guys, only seven guys would have been eligible to return based on that rule:

Trevon Duval (Duke)
Jaylen Barford (Arkansas)
Malik Newman (Kansas)
Brandon McCoy (UNLV)
Allonzo Trier (Arizona)
Billy Preston (Kansas)
Brian Bowen (South Carolina)

Don't think Akok would come close to a combine invite if those are the 7 guys who got one and didn't get drafted.

 

[kansashusky]

There is a reason we have started to pick up the pace with Karim Coulibaly.

 

[UconnU]

In order to be able to return, undrafted guys need to have been invited to the NBA Combine. Last year, of all the undrafted guys, only seven guys would have been eligible to return based on that rule:

Trevon Duval (Duke)
Jaylen Barford (Arkansas)
Malik Newman (Kansas)
Brandon McCoy (UNLV)
Allonzo Trier (Arizona)
Billy Preston (Kansas)
Brian Bowen (South Carolina)

Don't think Akok would come close to a combine invite if those are the 7 guys who got one and didn't get drafted.

Im not completely sure Akok is even on the NBA radar. Remember Akok was ranked outside of the top 70 in his class until one game late in the third live period when he hit a bunch of 3s in front of Slater(? I could be wrong, it was a big name 247 scout) who shot him up the rankings and made him a 5 star the next day. Very raw player. Too raw to even properly grade imo. Right now I’m wondering if he’s going overseas to play......