Abdul Malik Abu, one of the top power forwards in the Class of 2014 out of the Expressions Elite AAU program and Kimball (N.H.) Union Academy, will be contributing periodically to ZAGSBLOG during his junior season. Here’s his first entry:
On my visit to UConn, Jared [Terrell] and I watched the Huskies take on the Fordham Rams. It was a fun visit, but more importantly as Coach [Ty] Boswell would say, it’s a business trip.
Attending the game allows me to examine the speed of the college game and the execution that takes place on a nightly basis. What I learned from the Huskies was their tenacity on defense and their ability to get up and down the court. Led by [Shabazz] Napier and [Ryan] Boatright, most, if not all, fast breaks turned into easy buckets. This allowed the Huskies to break away and reach a 20-plus-point lead [en route to an 88-73 victory].
I also spotted one weakness and that was defensive rebounding. They let Fordham get numerous amounts of second-chance buckes. This weakness allowed Fordham to crawl back but they were ultimately put away as UConn got some defensive stops.
Meeting Jim Calhoun and Coach [Kevin] Ollie was a good experience. They made UConn feel like home and they seem to have big plans for the future, that I maybe can one day be a part of. They told myself and Jared that they would like us both to become Huskies.
Me and Jared spoke about it and UConn will be an option for 2014.
