Ahmed Hill Commits to Marquette

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

If he has a Vander like year he may not be back.  He is older than most of the kids on the team, so there could be some truth to that.  This can be discussed after he
plays 35 games and has an outstanding year.  Time will tell.

If he has a Vander-like season, I would be very surprised...pleasantly surprised but still surprised. And if is as good as Vander was, I wouldn't come out if I were him. Vander was younger, was a more heralded prospect, had a more NBA ready body, and the draft last year was weak. 2014's draft is gonna be stacked. Mayo would have to have a Big East Player of the Year type season to get drafted.

[BCHoopster]

If he has a Vander-like season, I would be very surprised...pleasantly surprised but still surprised. And if is as good as Vander was, I wouldn't come out if I were him. Vander was younger, was a more heralded prospect, had a more NBA ready body, and the draft last year was weak. 2014's draft is gonna be stacked. Mayo would have to have a Big East Player of the Year type season to get drafted.

I agree, I do not see NBA talent in Mayo yet, but you never know.  Maybe his brother will help him this year, but I really see him coming back.  He might have a heard time
even starting the whole year.

[Pakuni]

If he has a Vander like year he may not be back.  He is older than most of the kids on the team, so there could be some truth to that.  This can be discussed after he
plays 35 games and has an outstanding year.  Time will tell.

OK, sure, but you could say that about just about anyone on the roster.
My point is, we've been hearing reports since last summer about Todd's pre-ordained departure, none of which have come to fruition.

[Pakuni]

http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/college/2013-10-13/aquinas-ahmed-hill-expects-contribute-when-he-gets-marquette#.UlwY04ZFjWo.twitter

[Eldon]

http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/college/2013-10-13/aquinas-ahmed-hill-expects-contribute-when-he-gets-marquette#.UlwY04ZFjWo.twitter

Love this

"they [MU] don't have football, so everything is based on basketball"

[NersEllenson]

http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/college/2013-10-13/aquinas-ahmed-hill-expects-contribute-when-he-gets-marquette#.UlwY04ZFjWo.twitter

Nice find.  Thanks for sharing.  Sounds like a great kid, and love his and Mom's enthusiasm for MU and Buzz.  Can't wait to see him play at MU.  He's got great size for his position....and can see him very well being a Wesley Matthews + player at MU.

[brewcity77]

Oversigning will always lead to suspicions and conspiracy theories. But the simple truth is we've had unexpected departures every year since Buzz took over:

2008 -- Scott Christopherson, Trevor Mbakwe
2009 -- Patrick Hazel
2010 -- Yous Mbao, Jeronne Maymon
2011 -- Erik Williams, Reggie Smith
2012 -- Jamail Jones
2013 -- Jamal Ferguson, Vander Blue

And if not for Van declaring, we'd probably add Jake and Juan to that 2013 list. We've had at least one transfer out every year since Buzz has been here for various reasons. After this year, who knows what happens? Maybe one of next year's seniors feels they'll have less PT and leaves as a graduate transfer. Maybe one of our underclassmen declares for the draft again. Maybe one of the youngsters doesn't feel there will be enough minutes for them in the future. Who knows? All I know is that with current trends, oversigning by one would more likely be signing as many as we'll need to fill all scholarships, or more likely the oversigning by one will actually be undersigning by one.

[Golden Avalanche]

Oversigning will always lead to suspicions and conspiracy theories. But the simple truth is we've had unexpected departures every year since Buzz took over:

2008 -- Scott Christopherson, Trevor Mbakwe
2009 -- Patrick Hazel
2010 -- Yous Mbao, Jeronne Maymon
2011 -- Erik Williams, Reggie Smith
2012 -- Jamail Jones
2013 -- Jamal Ferguson, Vander Blue

Three-quarters of these weren't unexpected if you're paying attention.

[brewcity77]

Three-quarters of these weren't unexpected if you're paying attention.

Over a year in advance? Because that's when we are getting these commitments. Sure, you could figure many of them out by the time February rolled around, but there's no way we knew 75% of these transfers were going to happen in October before the season started. Hell, 40% of these guys hadn't even suited up once for Marquette by that point, so trying to put 75% as your figure is just bad math.

[Golden Avalanche]

Over a year in advance? Because that's when we are getting these commitments. Sure, you could figure many of them out by the time February rolled around, but there's no way we knew 75% of these transfers were going to happen in October before the season started. Hell, 40% of these guys hadn't even suited up once for Marquette by that point, so trying to put 75% as your figure is just bad math.

Three-quarters of these weren't unexpected if you're paying attention.

[TallTitan34]

Three-quarters of these weren't unexpected if you're paying attention.

4 of the 10 left playing only one season or less here.  There's no way you could have known they would leave before they suited up.

[Skatastrophy]

4 of the 10 left playing only one season or less here.  There's no way you could have known they would leave before they suited up.

Someone getting kicked off the team doesn't count as "leaving unexpectedly."

[Dawson Rental]

Oversigning will always lead to suspicions and conspiracy theories. But the simple truth is we've had unexpected departures every year since Buzz took over:

2008 -- Scott Christopherson, Trevor Mbakwe
2009 -- Patrick Hazel
2010 -- Yous Mbao, Jeronne Maymon
2011 -- Erik Williams, Reggie Smith
2012 -- Jamail Jones
2013 -- Jamal Ferguson, Vander Blue

And if not for Van declaring, we'd probably add Jake and Juan to that 2013 list. We've had at least one transfer out every year since Buzz has been here for various reasons. After this year, who knows what happens? Maybe one of next year's seniors feels they'll have less PT and leaves as a graduate transfer. Maybe one of our underclassmen declares for the draft again. Maybe one of the youngsters doesn't feel there will be enough minutes for them in the future. Who knows? All I know is that with current trends, oversigning by one would more likely be signing as many as we'll need to fill all scholarships, or more likely the oversigning by one will actually be undersigning by one.

I'm going to quibble about Maymon and Smith since they both left at semester break, so over signing to cover for that would have still been over signing when the school year started leading to a very embarrassing situation.

[brewcity77]

I'm talking about over signing as of right now. Anyone insinuating they knew Maymon, Smith, Mbao, and Ferguson were leaving as of October of their freshman years is lying. Or they are just paying really close attention. 

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I'm talking about over signing as of right now. Anyone insinuating they knew Maymon, Smith, Mbao, and Ferguson were leaving as of October of their freshman years is lying. Or they are just paying really close attention. 

I wasnt around when the first 3 were here but seeing Ferguson on campus you could tell. Never smiled, was never walking or hanging out with other teammates and if you watch the Davidson comeback hes the only guy on the bench not jumping up and cheering.

[94Warrior]

I'm talking about over signing as of right now. Anyone insinuating they knew Maymon, Smith, Mbao, and Ferguson were leaving as of October of their freshman years is lying. Or they are just paying really close attention. 

Don't worry Brew, the silent majority are intelligent enough to understand your point.  Some of these people are either extremely ignorant, extremely stubborn, or both.

[muwarrior69]

http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/college/2013-10-13/aquinas-ahmed-hill-expects-contribute-when-he-gets-marquette#.UlwY04ZFjWo.twitter

"Their style of play fits – they get out and go and shoot the ball," Hill said. "I know I can come in and be an impact player right away. They're trying to build around me, be the centerpiece. They want me to come in and be a scorer and leader for them."

I hope he knows Buzz wants his players to earn their playing time and is not disappointed  if he is not the centerpiece right off the bat.

[chapman]

I hope he knows Buzz wants his players to earn their playing time and is not disappointed  if he is not the centerpiece right off the bat.

Seems every other recruit says this nowadays.  They learn to reset expectations quickly when they get to campus and realize they have a mountain to climb just to be one of a half dozen centerpieces on the team and "contribute" means getting any share of the 200 available minutes.

[Golden Avalanche]

Don't worry Brew, the silent majority are intelligent enough to understand your point.  Some of these people are either extremely ignorant, extremely stubborn, or both.

Don't worry about my sense of intelligence.

His point was easy to understand. Mine apparently wasn't.

[94Warrior]

Ok, I'll play your game.  Please provide your list of guys, you knew were leaving 6 months in advance. 
Again, I am not talking about 20/20 hindsight.  You claim you knew of 3/4 of the transfers 6 months before they happened, so back it up.

[bilsu]

We do not know, but Buzz knows more than we do. He knew Blue wanted to go pro, even though Buzz tried to get him to stay. I think Buzz knows that Mayo wants to do the same thing, whether Buzz thinks it is a good idea or not. Buzz has two choices. Do nothing and hope Mayo stays or recruit for Mayo's spot knowing that Mayo might not leave. I am sure he knew quite early that Ferguson was going to leave. Maybe even before last year's November signing date. It would of not taken Ferguson to long to figure out he was not going to play last year or in the future. MU had early commitments from Wilson, Burton, Dawson and JJJ and it does not seem unlikely that he would of told Buzz early on that he was leaving.

[KenoshaWarrior]

Ok, I'll play your game.  Please provide your list of guys, you knew were leaving 6 months in advance. 
Again, I am not talking about 20/20 hindsight.  You claim you knew of 3/4 of the transfers 6 months before they happened, so back it up.

How would anyone know all this stuff six month in advance?

[chapman]

Exactly the point, they don't know.  If Buzz would manage to oversign by one in a couple weeks, it isn't because he knows X will probably transfer or Y won't end up enrolling.  He need only understand that eight months down the line the chances of nine players eligible to return alll returning AND five signees all being eligible and ready to enroll are extremely low.  So low that when the time comes the oversigning issues that people got overly excited about are usually worked out, but there have even been additional open spots.

[77ncaachamps]

Ahmed at NBA Top 100 Camp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvrMTSOxeIo

[Golden Avalanche]

Ok, I'll play your game.  Please provide your list of guys, you knew were leaving 6 months in advance. 
Again, I am not talking about 20/20 hindsight.  You claim you knew of 3/4 of the transfers 6 months before they happened, so back it up.

There is no game here. Read between the lines and use the powers of deduction you learned at Marquette.

More on topic, Hill is a tremendous recruit for Marquette. He won't leave early.