Abdul-Malik Abu, PF (NC STATE VERBAL)

@DMartinCSN: 1st "Get to Know" recruiting installment from @CSNbaltimore: A look at 2014 high-major forward Abdul-Malik Abuhttp://t.co/Qe20PbBiMd #Terps

Skill Set: Abu's transformation from just two years ago to where he is today is remarkable. Back then, he was a young and raw space-eater who played mostly below the rim. Two years later, he's one of the most athletic frontcourt players in the class and a factor on both the offensive and defensive ends because of his athleticism.

One high-major coach once told Comcast SportsNet that Abu reminds him of "a young Emeka Okafor," the former Connecticut forward and current Washington Wizard.

Schools in the Running: Two Big East schools from the Northeast, St. John's and Providence, have been on Abu for a while and could offer him something many college freshmen are looking for--immediate playing time. Coach Steve Lavin also has the benefit of mentioning Maurice Harkless, a similarly sized player who spent one year with the Red Storm before jumping to the NBA. Cooley is adding pieces to build a strong program and now has seen guard Ricky Ledo move to the NBA, despite not playing a minute in a Friar uniform.

Now that Abu's stock has risen, many schools are calling including Kansas State, Florida, Connecticut, North Carolina State, and Kansas, in addition to St. John's and Providence.


http://www.csnbaltimore.com/ncaa-maryland-terps/get-know-maryland-recruiting-abdul-malik-abu
 
“@AdamZagoria: Ed Cooley, Steve Lavin / Rico Hines, Kevin Ollie, Kevin Keatts among those watching Abdul Malik Abu on the Pan Africa roster.”
 
“@AdamZagoria: Abdul Malik Abu had 22 for Pan Africa with Lavin, Cooley, Ollie watching”
 
Abu's diet restrictions during Ramadan and the July live open periods:



WASHINGTON, D.C. — For a high school basketball prospect, the July evaluation period the summer prior to their senior year is one of the most important three-week stretches of their high school career. The coaches are allowed to be on the road, evaluating and recruiting, which means that the media will be there as well, schmoozing and networking.

Simply put, everyone with an opinion that matters in college hoops will be in a gym somewhere for three consecutive weekends in the middle of July.

For marginal prospects, that’s when you set yourself apart from the thousands upon thousands of other high school hoopers and earn yourself a scholarship. For the more talented kids, that’s when you play your way onto a top 25 program instead of finding yourself an afterthought for a team struggling to break .500 in the ACC.

For Boston native and Kimball Union Academy’s rising senior Abdul Malik-Abu, the most important month of his basketball career to date will be played without eating breakfast, lunch or dinner. It will be played without the benefit of a gatorade on the sidelines. He can’t even take a sip of water after his third game of the day in a gym with air conditioning that isn’t quite keeping out the swelteringly humid, 97-degree weather.

Malik-Abu — a 6-foot-8, 235 pound forward that ranks in Rivals’ top 50 in the Class of 2014 — is muslim. And as a practicing muslim, Malik-Abu fasts during Ramadan. This year, Ramadan began on July 8th and will run through August 7th, which means that throughout the entire July evaluation period, Malik-Abu will not eat or drink between sunrise and sundown.

“I’m really tired,” Malik-Abu told NBCSports.com after his only game on Thursday in Nike’s Global Challenge, as he packed up six gatorades from the event in his backpack. “For later.”

Here’s how Malik-Abu’s schedule works during Ramadan. He stops eating and drinking at about 4:30 a.m. each morning. For the next 16 hours, he has to hope that all the food and all the water that he packed into his stomach the night before keeps him running through out the day. At 8:30 p.m., when the sun sets and he’s allowed to eat again, Malik-Abu gets his Joey Chestnut on, which sounds ideal until you think about just how hard it is to actually fit that much stuff in your stomach.

“I eat as much as I can, but you get full quick because you haven’t eaten all day,” Malik-Abu said. “Just eat in spurts and spurts and spurts and spurts, and drink a lot of water.”

“It sucks. You think, ‘Oh, I’m fasting, I can eat as much as I want,’ but you get so full. You have to force yourself to drink water, or you’re going to pass out.”

What makes Malik-Abu’s performance while fasting all the more impressive is that he’s not an overly skilled big man and he’s not the kind of guy that does his damage knocking down jumpers. He’s a bruiser. He’s as big and burly as anyone in the Class of 2014, and he’s made a name for himself as an “effort guy”. He attacks the glass, he defends around the rim, he runs the floor in transition. That takes a lot of energy, which is not something that Malik-Abu necessarily has an abundance of right now.

“It’s something I have to do,” he said, “but it’s hard.”

Perhaps more impressive is that Malik-Abu consciously made the decision to play for the Pan-African team this week, passing up a chance to play on the USA East team. Instead of going up against the mediocre big men on some of the international teams, Malik-Abu will be spending the week battling against the kind of big men that should end up making all-conference teams in high-major leagues by the time their college careers are done.

“I wanted to be different, I wanted to do something for my heritage,” Malik-Abu said. His parents are Nigerian, but they came to this country two decades before he was born.

“I don’t want to beat teams by 20. I want to go against the best players instead of be on their team.”

Finding a college campus with a muslim community for him to join is important to Malik-Abu, but it’s not a deal-breaker. He says that having a mosque close to campus would be nice — muslims pray five times a day — but that it’s all just another part of the equation, “not the answer to the problem”.

“It’s not something I’m going to seek out, but if there’s one present, and the coach uses that as his pitch, it’s definitely going to help,” he said. “Not every campus is going to have it. I’m not going to limit myself. I’m going to go to the school that’s the best fit, and if they happen to have a muslim community that I could be a part of, then that’s that fine.”

Malik-Abu even said that his faith hasn’t been a major topic of conversation in much of his recruitment, which is down to 10 or 11 schools “on a mental note”, but that he’s not ready to officially trim his list.

“I don’t try to market it, I just try to play through,” he said, “and if they’re like, ‘what’s wrong, you’re not looking like yourself’, I’ll tell them I’m fasting.”

But here’s the thing: despite being 10 days into a month-long fast, Malik-Abu has looked like himself.

So what happens when he actually can eat?


@CBTonNBC: Abdul Malik-Abu balances July's live-period with his fasting for Ramadanhttp://t.co/1XVNNvPMGW
 
st. john's has a decent muslim student population plus the area somewhat near campus has a large. muslim community . i don't think you can find that in kansas.
 
st. john's has a decent muslim student population plus the area somewhat near campus has a large. muslim community . i don't think you can find that in kansas.
Click to expand...

Also, and maybe more importantly, Abu is Nigerian.

Lavin must get an official from this kid.

Achiuwa played a huge role in getting Obekpa to commit here and I have no doubt they would make him feel welcome on a visit.

I want this kid.
 
st. john's has a decent muslim student population plus the area somewhat near campus has a large. muslim community . i don't think you can find that in kansas.
Click to expand...

Also, and maybe more importantly, Abu is Nigerian.

Lavin must get an official from this kid.

Achiuwa played a huge role in getting Obekpa to commit here and I have no doubt they would make him feel welcome on a visit.

I want this kid.
Click to expand...

Good point, Alum (on Abu being Nigerian). I have a good feeling we'll get him on an official.

I also want this kid, as he's capable of playing multiple positions (at a high level).
 
“@XEliteBasketbal: Abdul Malik Abu finished with 16pt 2blk and 5rbs at the #NikeGlobalChallenge the world has now had a chance to see his limitless ceiling”
 
Per NBE Basketball....

Due to his religious beliefs and practices, Abdul-Malik Abu is fasting from sunrise to sunset during the July Live Periods for Ramadan. Despite playing without eating or drinking, the 6-foot-8 power forward was productive and showed off a quality motor. A class of 2014 recruit from Kimball Union Academy (NH), Abu has a good build and is tough in the post. Abu, who was playing for Team Pan-Africa, also showed that he has some ability to step out and shoot the ball, even if that is not his forte.

Abdul-Malik Abu said he holds about 30-plus offers, but did not name specific schools. The class of 2014 recruit did say he has offers from programs in the ACC, SEC, Big XII, and Big Ten though. Abu also noted that he is realty considering 11 schools right now, but was not ready to make that public. Of when he plans to release the list, Abu said, “Not really sure yet, depending on how this Live Period continues to go, but maybe in August.”

Abu has tripped to Connecticut, Providence and Maryland, and has no other visits scheduled right now. However, he did say, “I’ll be taking official visits in the fall.” Abu noted he is planning to take all five of his allotted official visits, but it is to be determined where he will go. The New England prospect is not sure of his timetable for a commitment and said there is no school coming at him the hardest. Abu also talked about what fasting for Ramadan while playing in July has been like. “It’s pretty tough,” Abu said, “but it’s just something that I have to do.”

http://www.nbebasketball.com/w3/2013_0722/nike-global-challenge-usa-west-edges-usa-south-for-title/
 
Per Zags: Zagoria: Top 10 Players at the Nike Global Challenge....

ABDUL MALIK ABU, 6-8 PF, Kimball Union (NH)

Abu is fasting in the month of July for Ramadan but still managed to stoke the interest of many high-major coaches, including Florida, UConn , Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John’s, N.C. State and others. He totaled 22 points and five rebounds in a loss to USA South.

http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/07/24/zagoria-top-10-players-at-the-nike-global-challenge/
 
Per NBE Basketball....

The way Abdul-Malik Abu has played this summer despite fasting for Ramadan is extremely impressive. The 6-foot-7 power forward has shown no signs of exhaustion and played quite well. A class of 2014 recruit, Abu is a powerful player with a good build who moves well on the hardwood. The Kimball Union Academy (NH) prospect can throw down some major one-handed dunks, is fairly active on defense and can be vocal at times on the court. The Expressions Elite standout has really improved as a player over the past year, and even the past couple months.

http://www.nbebasketball.com/w3/2013_0725/live-in-ac-day-i-report/
 
Like his buddy Terrell;

“@HoopDreamsmag: UCLA has offered 2014 Abdul Malik Abu Expressions Elite (MA) @MalikAbu_”
 
@AdamZagoria: Watching Abdul Malik Abu & Jared Terrell: Kevin Ollie, Andre LaFleur, TONY CHILES, Orlando Early, Dan Hurley
 
“@HoopDreamsmag: Abdul Malik Abu & Jared Terrell will release there list of schools today @ 8:30pm they are rumored to be going to school together.”
 
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