The Washington Post is doing a fascinating three part series on the fall of Maryland basketball. In part two, this is a quote that stood out:
Tony Squire, who coached Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in AAU, said the state of North Carolina has become “infested with street agents,” adding that “there is no question it has changed. What is happening now, the kids are changing and people are running around now offering kids stuff. Nowadays, if somebody comes in with some money, ‘You come play with us and you don’t have to worry about anything coming from your pocket.’ ”
On not hiring Michael Beasley’s AAU coach:
Asked whether Beasley would have followed him to Maryland, Hill said: “There was a great chance. I was involved with a lot of kids at the time and I know they had a lot of interest in Maryland. I just don’t understand why they didn’t go. . . . It astonishes me.”
Williams said Maryland could not pay an assistant coach a salary in that range. “To bring Beasley, it cost $450,000, for sure,” he said. “We know that. We didn’t have $450,000. So we are not going to get Beasley.”
Maryland also didn’t get two other D.C. Assault recruits — forwards Rodney McGruder and Wally Judge — who have signed with Kansas State for next season.
Malone said Hill was making only $60,000 in Charlotte at the time he was interested in Maryland and suggested it would not have taken nearly a half-million dollars to hire him.
Hopefully everyone got to read this article from Sunday’s News and Observer about John Wall:
Wall himself hardly comes across as naive about the recruiting game. Yes, Baylor showed interest in him before hiring Dwon Clifton, and “Dwon never told me he was going there,” he said.
So, the hiring wasn’t done to lure him to Baylor?
“Oh, I think it was,” Wall said. “You know, whichever AAU coach gets a job in college is hoping that he gets the point guard or the best player from that organization with him.”
I highly recommend reading this entire series (Part 3 yet to be published).
Link to Part I: A Shell of Its Former Self
Link to Part 2: A Whole New Ballgame That Williams Won’t Play
