Akok Akok commits to Huskies
The long and winding road of Akok Akok’s recruitment is over. He’s going to UConn.
And he should be there pretty soon.
Akok, a 6-foot-9 postgrad from Putnam Science Academy, committed to the Huskies on Saturday afternoon via his Twitter account.
“I appreciate all the schools that recruited me, it’s been a pleasure. That said ..... I am (100) percent committed to Coach Hurley, the University of Connecticut and @UConnMBB,” Akok posted on Twitter.
Akok plans to enroll at UConn for the second semester and join the basketball team as a walk-on, but not play. He will not be on scholarship, but will likely qualify for a hefty financial aid package. He’ll have the chance to practice and work out with the team under Hurley’s tutelage, similar to what another PSA product, Hamidou Diallo, did at Kentucky two seasons ago. Diallo, of course, was on scholarship. He considered entering the NBA draft after that half-season at Kentucky but wound up returning and playing for the Wildcats the following season before being selected in the 2018 draft.
Akok, a five-star prospect, has talked about entering the 2019 draft, but that would seem unlikely — though NBA scouts will no doubt attend UConn practices this winter to watch him (as well as Jalen Adams, and possibly others).
“He will be at UConn for the 2019-20 season,” promised Vin Pastore, who coached Akok on the Mass Rivals AAU team and spoke with him on Saturday.
UConn has been recruiting Akok for a while now, beginning with Kevin Ollie’s staff. After Ollie was fired on March 10, Hurley’s staff, spearheaded by assistant Tom Moore, continued recruiting Akok heavily. He took an official visit on Nov. 8, taking in the Huskies’ season-opening win over Morehead State, and was recently at the Huskies’ win over Cornell on Nov. 20 in Hartford.
Akok took his SAT on Saturday. He will have to apply to the school and, assuming he gets in, wouldn’t be able to start practicing with the team until after fall semester exams end on Dec. 16 — assuming things move that quickly.
One thing is certain: Whenever Akok Akok enrolls at UConn, and when he begins playing next season, the Huskies have landed a good one.
“He moves, runs and catches at the highest level,” said Pastore. “Because of his great hands, he has NBA-translatable shooting skills and can make shots from deep. Because of his impeccable timing and extremely quick jump and second jump, he protects the rim at the highest level. The bottom line is that Akok translates to the NBA.”
Akok had been down to UConn, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Providence in recent weeks. Ultimately, it came down to UConn and Georgetown, and he chose the Huskies — even though Georgetown had an open scholarship.
“He had built a good relationship with Tom Moore and then with Dan Hurley over the last few months,” said Pastore, who also coached Adams with Mass Rivals. “He likes them and trusts them. Akok wants to be in the gym getting better and be ready for the 2019-20 season.”
Akok, who came to America as a 1-year-old and settled in New Hampshire, has been living in Putnam for the past 2 1/2 years while attending PSA until abruptly leaving the school a little over a week ago.
“He can be reserved and quiet around those he doesn’t know,” said Pastore, “but is a lot of fun with people he is comfortable with. He is a sensitive young man and has had a long-time dream of playing in the NBA so he can help his mom, dad and siblings have better lives.”
Akok is close with current UConn sophomore Mamadou Diarra. In fact, during the Nov. 20 game against Cornell, Akok mistakenly thought he could sit next to Diarra at the end of the bench.
Turns out, he will likely have that chance a lot sooner than originally expected.