AMA

[8893]

If he's in Florida, he's in Florida, so what.

These recruiting deals are always fluid and kids are under pressure to go here or there. He may have had no intention of visiting UF again, but they turned him or his parents or whoever around and got him on a plane.

Well I was responding to this, from someone who says he knows the kid and suggested that the tweets about him being in Florida were false. I guess I'm wondering what, exactly, I'm supposed to take "for what it is." Especially when the kid's tweet to which he is referring has since been deleted.

I know Abdul personally, and it pains me seeing people on here ripping him apart criticizing his character and accusing him of seeking attention.

It is not his fault that false rumors are started by "so called professionals" on twitter everyday. We all saw his tweet that stated he was taking no more visits before his commitment on the 7th. So take that for what it is and stop judging the kid based on a few tweets here or there.

Changed his mind? Fine. Fluid? Sure.

Admittedly I'm a cynic by nature, but this one is starting to seem more manufactured than anything to me.

 

[UConn990411]

I really couldn't care less where he goes or where he is, except to the extent that it shows that he lied or intentionally deceived to exploit his situation.

Yes, it's a silly and apparently outdated value of mine. Strangely enough, I have found it to be very predictive.

You seem way too invested in where 17- and 18-year-olds decide to go to college.

(A word of advice: keep reminding yourself that these are 17- and 18-year-olds.)

 

[champs99and04]

Let's be honest here - I don't care if he visits the moon between now and Saturday, if he commits to UConn, nobody is going to care.

 

[UChusky916]

How stupid would everyone feel if he picked UConn

 

[TRest]

I will continue not knowing anything about him unless he signs a LOI. The recruiting stuff is just bizarre.

 

[UCweCONN]

I bet he goes to PC. Who ever heard of a joint press conference where one kid says I'm going to one school and another says I'm going to another? If you're gonna do that, have separate announcements.

 

[8893]

You seem way too invested in where 17- and 18-year-olds decide to go to college.

(A word of advice: keep reminding yourself that these are 17- and 18-year-olds.)

You are misreading me worse than you think I am misreading this kid. Please show me one post of mine prior to tonight where I even commented on a kid's decision, other than saying "next" when they go elsewhere--because that's the reality. Last time I cared where a kid went was Bynum, when he jumped straight to the NBA after a bit of a roller coaster ride and circus. Funny enough, I thought the way he handled that process did not portend well for his future.

I didn't even know Abu's name until two weeks ago when I returned from vacation and started checking the board again to see what was new. I have seen a lot of posts about this kid's recruitment in particular and I think he and his people are playing people here and elsewhere like fiddles. Personally, I don't like it. That is all. I have no investment at all in where he or others go.

Word of advice: I expect more from my own kids who are years younger than these kids.

 

[Gurleyman]

I'd say the same-sized small cluster of people ripped Caron for going to UNLV after he verbally committed to us. He went out of loyalty to his former coach from MCI - but never wavered in his commitment to us, which we didn't really know at the time. Instead it was bigtime messageboard drama (pre-Twitter, of course). Now we know more about Caron's character - including why he owed the UNLV coach that little piece of loyalty - and the sky wasn't really falling.

Wherever AMA ends up, he'll have plenty of chances to endear himself to the fan base and the recruiting process will be largely forgotten. The other three schools will move on.

 

[Dove]

It seems like almost every year the pillars that hold up UConn's hallowed epicness are about to crumble. I am being led to believe that if we lose Abu then the world will fade to black.

Almost every year.

I have 4 words for you...Facey, Samuel, Purvis and Hamilton. Life ain't that bad yo. IKOIT

 

[Mike Honcho]

I'd say the same-sized small cluster of people ripped Caron for going to UNLV after he verbally committed to us. He went out of loyalty to his former coach from MCI - but never wavered in his commitment to us, which we didn't really know at the time. Instead it was bigtime messageboard drama (pre-Twitter, of course). Now we know more about Caron's character - including why he owed the UNLV coach that little piece of loyalty - and the sky wasn't really falling.

Wherever AMA ends up, he'll have plenty of chances to endear himself to the fan base and the recruiting process will be largely forgotten. The other three schools will move on.

Good memory, forgot about that.

 

[UCDaveD]

I bet he goes to PC. Who ever heard of a joint press conference where one kid says I'm going to one school and another says I'm going to another? If you're gonna do that, have separate announcements.

Literally 2 months ago.

 

[selles]

I didn't even know Abu's name until two weeks ago when I returned from vacation and started checking the board again to see what was new. I have seen a lot of posts about this kid's recruitment in particular and I think he and his people are playing people here and elsewhere like fiddles. Personally, I don't like it. That is all. I have no investment at all in where he or others go.

Word of advice: I expect more from my own kids who are years younger than these kids.

C'mon, he owes us nothing. Certainly when your kids get to college age, you'd care a lot more that they get their choice right than that they'd satisfy a bunch of message board posters, yes?

 

[ctchamps]

Funny how each one of us have our own idiosyncrasies about how the world should behave. I lived through the time when women/girls decided to switch from dresses to pants. Hated it! Felt it was wrong.
I refused to marry any gal who wore anything but a wedding dress during the ceremony. Lucky for me my wife was accommodating. In fact she wore it playing the part of Amy in "Company" in community theater years later. You got to set the tone early I tell you.

I wasn't taking any chances on risking a subordinate female child so I insisted my wife bear only male children. She accommodated me again. And don't get me started about guys wearing earrings. However, I was accommodating to guys with long hair since I wore my hair long. No one can accuse me of being inflexible. I've changed. I've come to hate guys with long hair or any hair. Hats are in for me currently now that my hair is more memory than reality. I'm becoming a fan of Telly Savalas. His scalp is growing on me.

 

[CAHUSKY]

I bet he goes to PC. Who ever heard of a joint press conference where one kid says I'm going to one school and another says I'm going to another? If you're gonna do that, have separate announcements.

Ive seen it a few times when the players went to the same high school.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I didn't even know Abu's name until two weeks ago when I returned from vacation and started checking the board again to see what was new. I have seen a lot of posts about this kid's recruitment in particular and I think he and his people are playing people here and elsewhere like fiddles.

No one who has any legitimate stake in the process owes a cking thing to anyone on this board. And rightly so. He's not playing you because you don't matter.

It's the kid's future. It's something that you watch on tv a couple hours a week in the winter. Have some perspective.

 

[Danzz]

I know Abdul personally, and it pains me seeing people on here ripping him apart criticizing his character and accusing him of seeking attention.

It is not his fault that false rumors are started by "so called professionals" on twitter everyday. We all saw his tweet that stated he was taking no more visits before his commitment on the 7th. So take that for what it is and stop judging the kid based on a few tweets here or there.

Abu has created some of the climate for rumors to pop up but he isn't responsible for fans getting out of control. UConn is not the only good choice for recruits and many of the slams against other schools on this board could just as easily applied to UConn. We have had our share of problems. I get disappointed when a recruit choses another school just like other fans but I also realize that a recruit has to make the best decision for himself.

 

[8893]

C'mon, he owes us nothing. Certainly when your kids get to college age, you'd care a lot more that they get their choice right than that they'd satisfy a bunch of message board posters, yes?

No one who has any legitimate stake in the process owes a cking thing to anyone on this board. And rightly so. He's not playing you because you don't matter.

It's the kid's future. It's something that you watch on tv a couple hours a week in the winter. Have some perspective.

He owes me absolutely nothing. Nor do the producers of "The Bachelor." Neither one is my type of show though.

 

[nomar]

This is nothing we haven't seen before.

For Pete's sake, DeAndre Daniels committed to us out of nowhere after teasing a bunch of schools. KU fans, in particular, were quite ticked off. I don't think that portended anything. (And it's not like Andrew Bynum -- taking 8893's example -- has been Aaron Hernandez. Give him a pair of healthy knees and every team in the NBA would love to have him wear their jersey.) They are 17. And they do grow up.

And I don't think AMA's recruitment has been out of the ordinary. I also don't think we needed a whole new thread from an "insider" (with NO inside information, mind you) to lecture the board because 2 people were critical about a couple of things. Amu is 17, not 7.

 

[alexd]

I'd say the same-sized small cluster of people ripped Caron for going to UNLV after he verbally committed to us. He went out of loyalty to his former coach from MCI - but never wavered in his commitment to us, which we didn't really know at the time. Instead it was bigtime messageboard drama (pre-Twitter, of course). Now we know more about Caron's character - including why he owed the UNLV coach that little piece of loyalty - and the sky wasn't really falling.

Wherever AMA ends up, he'll have plenty of chances to endear himself to the fan base and the recruiting process will be largely forgotten. The other three schools will move on.

I remember the 11PM sports on local WFSB channel 3 had a big report & tried to "break" the story that UCONN had lost Caron to UNLV. I believe that's the last time they "broke" a recruiting story.

 

[pj]

Abu has handled his recruitment well. He's been tight-lipped so Internet speculation runs wild sometimes. People feel frustrated when their own fantasies are invalidated.

The fact that he was vacillating about going to Florida as recently as Thursday suggests it may well be a guilt or courtesy visit, giving Florida another chance to change his mind when his unofficial visit was very brief or didn't go well.

Don't know who he's leaning toward and won't try to read the tea leaves. He's an outstanding player and I hope he chooses UConn, we have a ton of minutes at the 4 and I think our coaches are going to be as good at developing big men as they are with guards. He would be a perfect fit here. But if he chooses someone else, best of luck to him and for us it's on to White, Larrier, Robinson, etc.

 

[CTBasketball]

And yet almost everyone on here, including myself, rips on the 19-22 year olds on the actual Husky team. When you care about something a lot you sometimes get out of control.

 

[Tenspro2002]

It seems like almost every year the pillars that hold up UConn's hallowed epicness are about to crumble. I am being led to believe that if we lose Abu then the world will fade to black.

Almost every year.

I have 4 words for you...Facey, Samuel, Purvis and Hamilton. Life ain't that bad yo. IKOIT

I appreciate the spirit of your post, but you'd have a lot more credibility if you just said "Purvis and Hamilton". Quite frankly, the Facey-Samuel-Brimah recruiting class is emblematic of exactly what we're afraid of going forward -- not being players for the big names and having to settle, like mid-majors, for the sub-100 crowd.

 

[7774]

I appreciate the spirit of your post, but you'd have a lot more credibility if you just said "Purvis and Hamilton". Quite frankly, the Facey-Samuel-Brimah recruiting class is emblematic of exactly what we're afraid of going forward -- not being players for the big names and having to settle, like mid-majors, for the sub-100 crowd.

Yeah, those three guys who have played a combined 0 minutes of college basketball really suck. Those other recruits who have played 0 minutes of college basketball are way better.

 

[aceboon]

Yeah, those three guys who have played a combined 0 minutes of college basketball really suck. Those other recruits who have played 0 minutes of college basketball are way better.

that's his shtick, every post is filled with the same thing, the guy has never seen anyone play and just goes by rankings.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Yeah, those three guys who have played a combined 0 minutes of college basketball really suck. Those other recruits who have played 0 minutes of college basketball are way better.

Regardless of how those guys do on the court, the fact remains that 2013 is a mid-major-esque recruiting class. Perception is what matters here. If we want to be considered elite, we have to recruit like we're elite.

Purvis and Hamilton are a great start toward an elite recruiting class. Samuel and Facey were not.

 

[Husky1972]

When you care about something a lot you sometimes get out of control.

Exactly. "Fans" is short for "Fanatics", after all.

You'd figure that D. Borges would get that.

 

[7774]

Perception is what matters here. If we want to be considered elite, we have to recruit like we're elite.

Or, you know, just win a lot of games on the court. And go deep in the NCAA tournament on a regular basis.

Those things would probably also work, since they, not elite recruiting, are the reasons we are considered elite right now.

You really have a bizarre viewpoint. Our class is mid-major-esque before anyone even steps on the court?

 

[iam76]

Funny how each one of us have our own idiosyncrasies about how the world should behave. I lived through the time when women/girls decided to switch from dresses to pants. Hated it! Felt it was wrong.
I refused to marry any gal who wore anything but a wedding dress during the ceremony. Lucky for me my wife was accommodating. In fact she wore it playing the part of Amy in "Company" in community theater years later. You got to set the tone early I tell you.

I wasn't taking any chances on risking a subordinate female child so I insisted my wife bear only male children. She accommodated me again. And don't get me started about guys wearing earrings. However, I was accommodating to guys with long hair since I wore my hair long. No one can accuse me of being inflexible. I've changed. I've come to hate guys with long hair or any hair. Hats are in for me currently now that my hair is more memory than reality. I'm becoming a fan of Telly Savalas. His scalp is growing on me.

I logged in just to let your know this cracked me up good.. great post


everyone chill out on this kid. Uconn will be fine with or without

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Rule number 1 of social media: unlike face-to-face interaction, no social decorum, boundaries, or code of conduct exists in cyberspace.

Rule number 2 of social media: in the absence of limiting factors, behavior is governed only by the power of self interest

 

[ctchamps]

I know Abdul personally, and it pains me seeing people on here ripping him apart criticizing his character and accusing him of seeking attention.

It is not his fault that false rumors are started by "so called professionals" on twitter everyday. We all saw his tweet that stated he was taking no more visits before his commitment on the 7th. So take that for what it is and stop judging the kid based on a few tweets here or there.

Thanks for the heads up. Sticking up for someone you care about is a noble gesture. I would say less than one tenth of one percent of posters are posting negative things about AMA. No matter where he heads, public scrutiny will occur because he is a public figure. And along with this territory comes a range of commentary from positive to negative.