No hard feelings for recruit that left

Miller’s firing played a role in Ashton-Langford leaving

Recruits change their minds and back out of their commitments all the time in this day and age of college basketball. Just check your Twitter feed.

Still, when Makai Ashton-Langford de-committed from UConn last spring and wound up a little over an hour down the road at Providence, it came as a bit of a shock.

Ashton-Langford’s decision came in the midst of a whirlwind of bad news for the Huskies. Vance Jackson, Juwan Durham and Steve Enoch all announced they were leaving UConn around the same time, giving the appearance of a program in peril.

But the move that affected Ashton-Langford the most came when associate head coach Glen Miller was fired shortly after the Huskies’ 2016-17 season had ended.

“Glen Miller was the guy who recruited him, and Glen Miller was the guy who believed in him,” Ashton-Langford’s father, DeMarr Langford, said by phone on Sunday afternoon. “As a teenage kid going to a big-time Division 1 school, you want to go with the guy who was showing the most interest and believed in you most. When he got fired, it was a big hit for Makai. Because Makai’s a relationship guy. That’s how we raised him.”

After Ashton-Langford learned that Miller was gone, he and his father sat down to discuss their options.

“He said, ‘The guy that believed in me the most is leaving,’” Langford recalled. “That was the main gist of why he de-committed, to be quite honest.”

Still, as Ashton-Langford gets ready to face UConn on Wednesday in an exhibition game for charity at 7 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena, there are no hard feelings on either side.

“Coach (Kevin) Ollie’s a great guy, man,” the senior Langford said. “We had a great relationship. He wanted my son, and for good reason, he’s a good player … He loves Coach

Ollie, I love Coach Ollie. No hard feelings at all.”

The feeling is very mutual.

“He made a choice, what’s best for him,” Ollie said on Sunday, at the opening of the latest Kevin’s Kourt, a basketball court for wheelchair athletes, at the Mandell Jewish Community Center. “I love Makai like no other, no matter if he’s going to Providence or going here. I had the opportunity to meet his family, to meet him as a person. I love him.”

He added that he has “no ill feelings” against AshtonLangford.

“His family is wonderful, he’s wonderful, his little brother is wonderful,” Ollie said. “His whole family is great. They made a choice for him. I’ve got to live by that … I wish him the best. Not when they play us, but I wish him the best out there and I want him to perform at a great level.”

Miller’s dismissal wasn’t the only reason for the de-commitment. When Ashton-Langford committed to UConn in September, 2016, there was thought that Jalen Adams (AshtonLangford’s teammate on the Mass Rivals AAU team) might be in the NBA by the time he arrived in Storrs. But that wasn’t going to be the case.

Langford also noted “we

heard rumors they were recruiting other guards, on top of the other guards they already had. Those guys are dynamic.”

“Makai’s dream is to go to the next level and play at the NBA level,” Langford continued. “With a lot of guards coming in, they run the three-guard set, positionless basketball, not sure what his role was gonna be for two, maybe three years. Then try to make a run for the next level for your junior and senior year, without really making a name for yourself as a freshman and sophomore, possibly – that was the other reason.”

Langford doesn’t believe his son will feel awkward at all on Wednesday night.

“I think he is excited right now. I mean, these are his guys. Jalen Adams, he played with him for years with Mass Rivals. Ballwise, that’s like his brother.”

Langford added that his son got to know Alterique Gilbert pretty well, and even went on an official visit with current Husky freshman forward Tyler Polley.

Then there’s this: Akok Akok, a 2019 power forward from Putnam Science Academy, was slated to make an unofficial visit to UConn this weekend. That got scrapped, however, because the Huskies had to switch practices. Akok is expected to be back in Storrs some time over the next few weeks, along with his PSA teammates — including DeMarr Langford, Makai’s younger brother.

RIM RATTLINGS

Though Ashton-Langford ultimately didn’t work out, there has been a long line of Brewster products that wound up at UConn — from Jeff Adrien to current players Adams and Sid Wilson (who’s still hoping to be cleared by the NCAA to play this season after transferring from St. John’s). The newest addition will be Lukas Kisunas, a physical, Class of 2018 big man who committed to the Huskies earlier this month. UConn has also offered 2019 point guard Sherif Kenney, who at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds has “a little bit of Khalid El-Amin in him,” according to Smith.

Local Husky fans can see Kisunas, Kenney and the rest of Brewster play at the National Prep Showcase at Albertus Magnus College next month. Brewster will play on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 4 p.m. against Link Year Prep of Missouri, then Sunday, Nov. 19, at 10 a.m. against Mount Zion Prep of Maryland.