Mike Anthony piece on Alterique

[Huskyhoops25]

Wow, one of the best takes on a misunderstood Husky. I have a new appreciation of what a great person we have had the pleasure to watch grow. I truly hope Al comes back for another year.

Mike Anthony: Alterique Gilbert’s battle with mental health shows the strength of a player we should consider a UConn great

Alterique Gilbert wakes up at 5:15 a.m. every day and begins to carefully navigate his life with the guidance of Post-it Notes. Green, yellow, blue, they are all over his bathroom, reminders to bru…

www.courant.com

 

[MexicoHusky]

Lots of pressure at a young age.

 

[Puparoni]

And exactly why Coach Hurley stuck by AG. To all who questioned both AG and Hurley...here is your answer.

 

[UConnDad]

Jeez, as if you needed more reason to support one of our guys. Some story.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

People should read this.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Bravo, Mike Anthony, Bravo. Really heartwarming.

All UConn fans should read this article.

I would love for Alterique to play for a team next year where he can get 30+ minutes a game, preferably a team that specializes in transfers but plays in a conference with solid competition.

Nevada comes to mind:

*They are a respectable program in a good conference with an established culture of acquiring transfers
*Their two best point guards, Lindsey Drew and Jazz Johnson, are graduating
* They will have two scorers in Jalen Harris and Desmond Cambridge that can use a stabilizing pass-first PG like Alterique to feed them.

 

[8893]

People should read this.

Only fans of hagiography

 

[Huskybass]

Nice job by Mike Anthony. The article gives good insight on what has been a difficult journey for a young man who had to overcome personal issues, several injuries and a big change in leadership from Ollie to Hurley. Glad AG got to be coached by Hurley.

I hope AG finds a role here or elsewhere where he can flourish next season. He seems to be in a much better place now.

 

[Hi-Low]

I'm ashamed for any negative posts about AG I may have written. I think I limited criticism to on court play but knowing now what this kid has gone through I'm pretty disgusted with myself. I hope AG gives us a chance to show him the love he deserves from all of us.

 

[AntG168]

Rique has always been a solid dude. Glad he’s doing better

 

[UconnAlum04]

Obviously AG should do whatever is best for him, but I def want him to stay.

 

[BlueMAB]

Courageous young man, he really deserves to hoist a trophy this weekend. And an apology from a bunch of people here.

 

[dtrumpet]

damn, thats a great read. A great story that needed to be told.

 

[BlueandOG]

AG! Love you defense and dribble penetration. Stay with us for one more - NCAA next year!

 

[mauconnfan]

After reading Ben Gordon's a couple of weeks ago and now this I have the utmost respect for the 2 of them.

AG has been a warrior throughout his crazy career, but little did we know how much of one huh? Great read, the best to AG in whatever his decision is but would love to have him back for sure. Never in doubt from here.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Twitter trolls are a pathetic bunch. We can lose our minds over wins and losses, but let's keep things in perspective. These are kids and these are humans - we should always be supporting them. Let's go Al!

 

[CL82]

“I recently read the Ben Gordon Player's Tribune article,” Gilbert said. “That was deep and that was powerful for, not just athletes, but people. But it was really special for me because, wow, that's what it looks like if you continue. That could have been ...”

Remember when people said Ben's essay probably saved lives?

 

[NJHoops]

Dan went off back in November about Alterique and the people who were going after him. Some may still think his comments weren’t appropriate, but I’m glad this came out to at least give everyone some context. The article touches on it a little without going too in depth or giving all the details, but Dan is a very good and relatable coach for Alterique to have had. I’m glad, for both of them, that their basketball paths crossed and they got to know each other.

 

[Brandon86]

Me personally I don’t want him going anywhere. Yeah we are starting to get better recruits, but we ain’t even over recruited him lol. He is a Husky, and I don’t wanna see him in nobody else uniform but ours. If it’s more beneficial for him to leave, ok then.

 

[tuvent08]

That's an amazing story. He has a lot more courage, drive, and resilience than I did when I was a college student.

 

[navery12]

One thing I found interesting was the comment about him leaving for more playing time and not going pro. If that's the case I hope he's back

 

[LStudfellow]

Many times we do not know what is going on behind the scenes - and as a result we get caught up in the passion of the games as they are happening and forget about the human side of things. We forget these are young men just out of high school, and the pressure on them to perform at a school like UConn is ENORMOUS.

Like all of you I remember being in college and having plenty of moments I would like to have back. That is why I try to never say anything bad about any of these young men beyond their play on the court. Ever.

I remember what it was like to go through a traumatic experience during my time in college and it took me almost 2 years to recover. And I didn't have the pressure of major college basketball or a scholarship or twitter trolls who don't even know me talking crap about me for the whole world to see.

Alterique, I wish you nothing but the best... now, and for the rest of your life. I hope you stay for next year, because your strength, perseverance and maturity embody so much of what we want our athletes as well as our entire UConn student body to emulate.

But if you do decide to move on because you feel that is what is best for you, I root for you wholeheartedly to experience all the success on the court and in life that you so richly deserve.

 

[8893]

 

[biggieb1950]

Wow like everyone else! What an article and what incredible strength from Alterique to persevere and still compete for and with the team. I too am embarrassed my any negative comments I have made. You can now see how the team has pulled together for each other and how it's affected their success. Also speaks highly of Hurley in his role as the teams leader.

 

[Chasm64]

From comments I had heard second hand from someone who had a minor part of the program the love and respect Gilbert had from his teammates and coaches was almost unprecedented. It made it very hard to ignore the trashing he received from some on this board.