Come on…while this is clearly a ridiculous situation with Bates parents trying to make a buck off of him… Akins is the second best player on that team and probably assumed that being good and playing with a possible future teammate would have been fine.
LeBron is actively recruiting other stars and was willing to defer at times to them. This feels like Bates just wants to surround himself with guys to pass him the ball so he can show off. Crazy.
Don’t join the circus if you’re afraid of clowns. I get that it looked like a great opportunity to stay close to home and play a national schedule, but there’s a world of difference between Ypsi Prep and, say, Monteverde or Sierra Canyon.
I feel like Akins is probably the last person who should be getting any blame whatsoever in this situation.
That wasn’t my intention, I meant more that it’s not terribly surprising. Although it’s crazy that Emoni’s family thinks this is a good look for them.
What was in there? I don’t recall. Albom bought into a lot of trite and shallow narratives because they fit him as a writer.
Agree enthusiastically about Winston and Tillman. They seem like solid dudes and their on-court behavior always seemed classy, unless there were a few episodes I missed when it wasn’t.
It may be a reflection of MSU realizing it can’t just bully Michigan anymore, or it may be that guys like Winston and Tillman don’t have that mentality. Add Valentine to the list. He was a real barker, IIRC. Always talking.
Nick Ward also had the thing where he tried to trip Wagner as he was heading to the huddle during a timeout.
That would imply IMG or Monteverde, right?
I’d draw a line between guys like Valentine - who was basically a mean-mugger (Draymond too) but with little to no bad stuff said about him to some of the other known problem players they had. Like obviously we were on opposite sides of the equation but I bet an MSU fan would say something similar about Mo or Ignas (had Ignas ever beat them).
Yeah, Valentine >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Appling and Payne, who by most accounts are just the scummiest of scummy people (going off what we know about the sexual assaults). Valentine is much more like Mo Wagner, a guy with an annoying face who talks a lot of trash and who you love to have on your team.
or Coranado
does that mean anything to Michigan? is he flippable?
No idea. Just sharing what was posted on mgoblog, though you’d think if this came true (Akins playing with an M signee) that it certainly couldn’t hurt Michigan’s chances.
EDIT: Forgot that Akins is a '21 so likely this wouldn’t make a difference with Bufkin and Collins already in the class.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the certainty of Akins is more valuable to the MSU program than the allure of Bates. Akins is a fantastic prospect in his own right, he fits Izzo’s system, and he’ll excel on the court for MSU for years. Bates gave MSU a brief pop in recruiting headlines but most knew he would never suit up for the Spartans and/or bring some weird stories like this with him. Isaiah Todd’s brief commitment to Michigan didn’t end up doing anything for us, for example.
I just remembered that Akins is a 21, not 22. So I don’t see any way he ends up at Michigan
Izzo will put up with certain types of behavior (as we discussed above) but I don’t think such blatant selfishness and creating drama are among them. Say what you want about him, but he believes in a tight knit team and it’s not just talk.
I agree, you can’t turn down a commitment from Bates but MSU is arguably better off with Akins alone. It’s possible this is the best-case scenario for the program, they can separate from Bates without losing face
Yes exactly and Emoni is sticking around one year max if he even goes to college. For a guy with his talent college may be something he doesn’t even take serious like the reports imply could happen
